Duel of Souls
by mikromb13
Summary: COMPLETE Cowritten with DarkElements10 Summary: The gang goes on a tropical vacation. With a warm sun, miles of endless beaches, and some perfect waves, what could possibly go wrong? Pairings: ZackxRikku, CrystalxCodyxRumiku
1. The Surprise

**Duel of Souls**

**Cowritten with DarkElements10**

**Summary: The gang goes on a tropical vacation. With a warm sun, miles of endless beaches, and some perfect waves, what could possibly go wrong?**

**Pairings: ZackxRikku, CrystalxCodyxRumiku**

**(a/n) Zack doesn't fail English is this story**

**Chapter 1 - The Surprise**

"Hi Zack! Hi Cody" A couple of voices said in unison.

Fourteen year old Zack Martin and his twin Cody turned around to see two girls standing behind them. "Hey Rikku, hey Rumiku." Cody said. "What's up?"

Rikku Hiroshima had red hair with black highlights. She wore a red tee shirt with a black vest and black baggy cargo pants. Her twin, Rumiku had silver hair and wore a silver tee shirt. She also had black baggy jeans on.

The two girls smiled devilishly, "Oh, nothing much we have a little suprise for you..." Rikku began.

"...But you have to wait till after school to find out what it is." Rumiku finished as the bell rang. "Cause we gotta finish working out a few small details first." The two girls turned and walked to their seats.

Cody hurried to catch up to them. "What is it?" He asked hopefully, giving Rumiku his best puppy-dog face. Rikku smiled and made a zipping motion over her lips. Rumiku pretended to lock hers with an invisible key. "Fine, we'll wait." He said sighing as he took his seat next to Zack.

"Dude, you find out?" Zack said as Cody sat down. Cody shook his head. "Paa...thetic." Zack said pretending to sneeze. Cody made a sour look and turned his attention to Mr. Forges, their teacher.

"Good morning class." Mr Forges said brightly. All he got was a few mumbled responses. Zack had already gone to sleep, and Rikku and Rumiku seemed engaged in their own conversation. "Jeez, I thought you all would be a little more cheerful since its your last day here at Buckner Middle School. But heres something I know will make you all happy."

A few heads looked up, Cody was listening intently as Mr. Forges continued. "I've been talking to Mrs. Rellic, she teaches 9th grade history at the high school. We decided what better way to spend your summer than a nice little summer project? Now we decided each of you will read the first eight chapters and make a three page outline on each one...and yes that's three pages per chapter, front and back."

"What??" One student said.

"This sucks!" Another one added.

"Summer is _OUR _time" A third one started.

"Not time for school." A fourth one finished.

Mr. Forges ignored the comments and groans as he passed out copies of their 9th grade textbook and explained the assignment. "Your notes are due on your first day of high school. Typed, double spaced...no exceptions."

Everyone in the class continued to groan with the exception of Cody, who looked like Christmas had come early. "Hey Zack, wake up!" He said shaking his brother.

"Huhh? What?" Zack said grogily.

"We got a summer project due on the first day of high school. Isn't it great? We get a taste of high school homework before the year even starts!" Cody said, sounding extremely enthusiastic. Zack just raised an eyebrow.

"Yea, just great! As if school doesn't take up enough of my time." Zack whined.

_BBBBBRRRIIINNGGGG!!!!_

At the sound of the bell, everyone packed up and walked out of the classroom. "One last thing, each of your parents was sent a letter about this," Mr. Forges yelled over the scrambling students. "So forgetting isn't an option. Have a good, safe summer!"

Zack and Cody walked over to Rikku and Rumiku, who seemed as happy as Zack was about getting a summer assignment. "So girls was this the suprise?" Cody asked. "That you already got your letters?"

"Umm...NO!" The two said in unison.

"Oh," Cody said, somewhat taken aback. "But still isn't this great? I feel like a freshman already!"

"Cody, we're gonna say this cause we care about you." The two girls said. "Shut up..."

"...Now." Zack finished. A few seconds later he said. "Hey Rikku, I hear we have shortened periods today. So while the rest of these geeks are at the graduation assembly, do you want to..."

"NO!" She said flatly.

For once, Cody couldn't concentrate on the rest of his classes, he was too busy thinking about high school and his assignment. When the final bell rang, Zack, Cody, Rikku and Rumiku headed down to the gym for the graduation assembly. In the gym they met up with their friends Max Motgomery, Tapeworm Michaels, and Crystal Miroshi. Cody greeted Crystal warmly, while Rikku and Rumiku subtlely waved hi. Crystal was the Hiroshima's cousin, and they an on-off relationship. Cody sensed that currently, things probably weren't going too good. "Hey guys." Zack said. "So ya ready to ace this place?"

"Been." Max said.

"Definately." Tapeworm said.

Mr. Forges was already there. "Now gentlemen and ladies," he began. "The purpose of this assembly is so when it comes time to walk across the stage and get your eighth grade diploma, you all will know what to do. Now it's my pleasure to announce our valedictorian..."

Tuning Mr. Forges out, Zack leaned over to Rikku. "So can you tell us yet?"

"Not yet," She responded.

"Cody Martin."

When he heard his name Cody smiled and Rumiku patted him on the back. Crystal smiled over at him, while max and Tapeworm mouthed "nice job."

For the next hour, the class practiced how they would enter the room and the procedure for walking across the stage. When they were done, Mr. Forges said "Great job class, we'll see you all tonight, six pm."

The group walked out of the gym and to the bus stop, where they were joined by Rikku and Rumiku's younger siblings, Patrick, Noah and Sydney. "So you tell them yet?" Sydney asked.

"Not yet." The girls replied.

Zack turned and blocked Rikku and Rumiku's path. "So what's the big suprise?" he said.

"Well." Rikku said. "We have concert coming up in Hawaii."

"And?" Cody said, looking more and more eager.

"And since we're staying for two weeks, we're turning the rest into a little vacation." Rumiku added.

The looks on Zack and Cody's face made people nearby think their eyes were about to pop out.

"And since we have some extra space." Patrick and Noah added.

"All you guys get to come with us." Sydney finished.

"Wow! That's awesome!" Zack said, trying to calm his heart down.

"Yep. " Sydney started. "Two weeks of lying on the beach, catching waves..."

"...checking out those island babes!" Patrick and Noah finished in unison.

"We leave tomorrow morning." Rikku said. "So don't spend the whole night partying!"

"OK" Zack and Cody replied.

When Zack and Cody got home, they saw three black suitcases sitting by the door. Their mother, Carey Martin was ironing two white button down shirts. Two sets of caps and gowns hung on nearby hangers. Each was wrinkle-free and Cody's had a gold sash on it. "Hey mom, guess what?" Cody said as he walked in the door.

"I know. I know Robert just left." She said, "he told me everything. We finally get to go to Hawaii!"

"You're coming??" The two boys cried in unison.

"Well yea, Robert invited me." Carey said with a smile. "Besides I can't let my two babies go 6,000 miles away all by themselves. Even if they are graduating the 8th grade."

"MOM!" They said, again in unison. Zack and Cody each grabbed a suit case and headed to their room to pack.

Cody was a light packer, so he had no trouble getting everything to fit. Zack however was jumping on his suitcase to try to get it to close. Cody just shook his head.

A few seconds later, Carey appeared in the doorway holding a letter. "And don't forget your assignment. The time on the plane will be the perfect time to get it done."

When they finished packing, all three Martins headed back to the school for the ceremony. They met up with the Hiroshimas just outside the gym. Carey sat next Robert while the kids walked across the stage one by one. As they all walked out, Rikku said "See you guys tomorrow."

The next morning, Zack, Cody and Carey finished packing up some last minute things and headed over to the airport. Mr. Moseby, the hotel manager was so happy that the twins were leaving for two weeks he let them take the hotel limo free of charge.

Once in the airport, the Martins, the Hiroshimas, Crystal and her father, Tapeworm, and Max all met up at the ticket counter. The ticket agent was a women in her early twenties. She had red hair and green eyes. A friendly smile was plastered on her face. "Good morning," She said. "How can I help you?"

"We're here to check in for our flight." Cody said to the ticket agent.

"Ok, Platinum Airlines flight 1123, non-stop to Honolulu." She said as she checked their bags and handed them their boarding passes. "Departing from gate 39A."

After they got their boarding passes, went through security, and headed over to their gate. They arrived their about a half and hour early. Robert and Carey went to a nearby coffee stand, Rikku, Rumiku, Patrick and Noah were busy talking about the concert. Zack learned the hard way not to drink half a gallon of juice before leaving home, while Crystal and her father checked out a nearby magazine rack. Sydeny and Cody plopped themselves down in some open seats near the gate door.

"Aww come on, don't be a 767, damn." Cody heard a voice next to him.

Cody looked over to his right and saw a boy, about his age sitting alone. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black tee-shirt and baggy black jeans. A longer pocket on his left side seem to buldge a little in the shape of a flashlight. Sydney also looked over and looked at him curiously, "Why does the plane type matter?" He asked.

"It doesn't really, I'm just sick of flying on 767s." The boy replied.

"How can you tell from looking out here?" Cody asked.

"Look at the engines and the nose." The boy replied again.

"Oh, ok." Cody said as he opened his lab top.

"Platinum Airlines flight 1123, to Honolulu, now boarding from gate 39A." The gate agent.

"Come on buddy, time to go." Zack said to Cody as he walked over.

"Yea you don't wanna miss the flight do ya?" Crystal said teasingly, slapping him on the back.

The group boarded the plane and went to find their seats. Zack sat down in the window seat and received a sour look from Cody. "Zack, I'm supposed to have the window seat! You're not supposed to switch!"

"Ahh really?" Zack said dully. "Sorry but the geek seat is that one." He pointed to the seat in the middle of the row.

"ZACK! MOVE!" Cody said, trying to control his temper.

"Or what? You'll cry on me?"

"No, I'll move you myself." Cody reached over and yanked Zack away from the window. Zack resisted and pushed Cody off with his foot. "Second born, second choice, now be a good little brother and go sit in my other seat."

Cody growled. As much as he wanted the window seat, he didn't want to get thrown off the plane for fighting.

Far away from the aircraft, an image of Zack and Cody's fight played over and over on a television monitor. "Let's see..." A voice said as it watched the fight over and over. "Perfect. What better way to solve my little problem than to pit the basic elements of life against one another? Fire...vs...Water."

* * *

**(a/n) Don't own suite life, and 767s belong to Boeing. Personally I like them. Please Review.**


	2. Arriving

**Chapter Two – Arriving**

"Hey, it's that kid again" Cody said, nudging Zack's arm. Zack leaned over his brother to take a look. The boy that Zack and Cody saw earlier was

sitting in a seat, his chin resting in his hand, as if he was bored or angry at something.

"What's up with him?" Rikku, who had heard their conversation, leaned over in her seat to ask the twin boys. Sydney poked his head up from over his

seat.

"Oh, he doesn't like Boeing 767s" he replied.

"I don't see how he can, they're so cool" Patrick commented.

"Guys, it's not nice to talk about someone in public" Christian said to hid daughter's friends and cousins.

"Well, can you blame us, we're young and stupid'" Noah said with a smile.

"Some, not all" Crystal said as she turned her gaze to Patrick, who scowled and slid lower in his seat.

"It's alright Patrick, you're not stupid" Tapeworm said comfortingly.

"Yeah, if any one is stupid, its Zack" Max spoke up.

"That's right" Zack nodded, and then thought about what he said. "Hey!"

"Well, that proved out point" Rumiku said, shaking her head. She turned to her dad. "Dad, how long is the flight?"

"How should I know?" Robert asked through gritted teeth. Rumiku slowly sat back down in her chair.

"What's up with your dad?" Cody asked.

"Nothing" Rumiku replied with a sigh. "He's always like that"

"Sometimes its worse than usual" Sydney added. "But lets not worry about that now, we're going to Hawaii to have fun for three whole weeks"

"Well, we get to have fun for the three whole weeks, you guys get to work for one of the three" Zack pointed out.

"Yeah, but our job is fun" Noah shot back.

"That's true" Max and Tapeworm said in unison. Sydney looked up and saw that the boy was looking back at him, recognizing him and Cody.

"I'm going to go talk to him" Sydney said, getting out of his seat.

"All right, just don't wander off" Rikku said.

"Where else am I going to go on a plane?" Sydney asked, not turning around. Rikku shook her head and went back to her IPod as Sydney went over to

the boy. "Hello" he greeted him.

"Hi, you're that boy that I saw in the waiting area, with your brother?" the boy said.

"That wasn't my brother" Sydney said and climbed into the empty seat across from him.

"I didn't really think so, I mean, you don't look similar at all, especially with your hair color" the boy said.

"I get that a lot," Sydney said with a smile. "I dyed it, and so did the rest of my brothers and sisters"

"How many do you have, by the way, I'm Mike" the boy said and stuck out his hand. Sydney took it and shook it.

"I'm Sydney Hiroshima, and I have five siblings, but my oldest brother stayed back in Boston to keep an eye on things." Sydney kicked his legs back

and forth. "So why are you going to Hawaii"

"Oh, my parents are sending me there to stay with some relatives" Mike replied casually. "Why are you going?"

"Because I'm in a ba-" Sydney stopped and thought quickly. "We won a contest to go to Hawaii" he said.

"Oh, that's cool" Mike said and nodded.

"What's that thing in your pocket?" he asked suddenly, pointing to the lump that looked like a flashlight

"Ok, I think you've talked enough" Rumiku said as she walked down the aisle and stopped by the two boys' chair. "I hope he didn't bug you"

"No, he was fine" Mike said reassuringly.

"Mike, this is one of my sisters, her name is Rumiku" Sydney said.

"Hey" Mike said and stuck out his hand. But Rumiku only nodded and Mike put his hand down slowly. Sydney giggled behind his palm.

"Don't worry about her, she's not a people person" Sydney said.

"All right, you've said enough" Rumiku lifted her brother under her arm and walked back to their seats as Sydney kept asking 'what, what did I

say?'.

Zack looked up from his magazine and smiled when he saw Rumiku place Sydney in his seat, and the little boy pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. He

smiled and nudged Cody when the flight attendant walked leisurely up the aisle pushing a cart full of food.

"Check it out Cody," he said and waited until the flight attendant was next to him. "Hey sweet thang, would you like to get a better job and only

feed me?"

The flight attendant shook her head and continued up the aisle. "She so wants me" he said to Cody.

"That was the lamest line, you've ever tried on someone" Cody said shaking his head.

"And you've come up with worse ones" Rikku added as she pulled a earbud headphone out of her ear.

"Just because none of them have worked on you-"

"And never will" Max cut in.

"Doesn't mean that it won't work for others"

"Yes it does" Crystal said, her face in a magazine, eaves dropping.

-

"Hmm, I should be able to use that to my advantage" Core said as he looked at the screen where it showed the kids talking about the flight

attendant.

"Do you want us to do anything yet?" Koto asked, sitting on the floor behind him, gazing up at the screen.

"Not just yet, I want to make them lose their guard first' Core said and turned off the screen.

-

"Patrick, Noah, wake up!" Sydney said, shaking their shoulders.

"Ow!" The twins cried as their heads collided.

"What do you want, I was just getting some sleep?" Noah cried,

aggravated.

"Look, we're here" Sydney said excitedly, pointing out the window.

"Wow, that's beautiful" Max said as she looked out the window at the island they were approaching. Tapeworm nodded as the two looked out the

window.

"Hey, did you guys know that Hawaii is the chief export of pineapples?" Cody asked with a smile.

"Cody, we're on vacation, don't ruin it" Crystal said teasingly as she patted Cody on the shoulder. Cody gave a small smile and continued to look

out the window. Rikku just sat in her seat, staring at the ceiling.

"Are you ok?" Patrick asked her.

"I'm fine" she replied coolly. Patrick looked at Rumiku, who shrugged in reply.

"Kids, sit down" Carey called.

"Do we have to?" Sydney asked in a whiny tone.

"Yes!" Robert growled. Sydney, Patrick, Noah, and Rumiku immediately dropped down into their seats and buckled up, their eyes wide.

"You really got to work on your parenting skills" Christian said to him.

Robert snorted.

"Why should I, if they act like this when I tell them to do something?" he asked with a smile. "They actually behave."

"I only wish that Zack and Cody could do that" Carey said wistfully.

"They can't be that bad" Robert said comfortingly. Carey pointed towards her sons, who were shoving each other.

"Ow, knock it off, Zack!" Cody cried.

"You're in my space!" Zack snapped and shoved him back.

"Well if you weren't so big I wouldn't have to worry about it!" Cody snapped. Zack glared and tossed his cupful of soda into his brother's face.

"Ow! You got soda in my eye!" Cody cried, rubbing his eyes.

"That's the idea" Zack sneered.

"You were saying?" Carey asked him sarcastically.

-

The Hiroshimas, The Martins, The Miroshis, Max and Tapeworm, stood in the lobby of the large hotel they were staying at looking around at the

extravagant paintings and decorations. Crystal's eyebrows scrunched together as she listened for something.

"Do you guys hear that?" she asked.

"Do you mean like the sound of screaming girls and pounding feet?" Tapeworm asked, turning to her.

"Yeah" Crystal replied, nodding.

"No" Tapeworm said and Max gave him a weird look.

"Wait a minute, did you say screaming girls and pounding feet?" Patrick asked slowly.

"Oh no" Noah groaned to himself.

"What, what's wrong?" Cody asked. Rumiku turned to him and slid off her

backpack.

"Could you hold onto this for a second?" she asked, holding it out to him. Cody smiled and nodded.

"Thank you" Sydney said and he and his siblings started to run away from their friends and family, as they stared at them as if they were crazy. A few

seconds later, a big pack of boys and girls, carrying pieces of paper and pencils, ran by, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Zack, Cody, and the others watched the Hiroshimas run around the lobby, laughing, as they were chased. Sydney grabbed onto a pillar and started to

shimmy up it, out of the reach of people who were standing under him, trying to grab his feet. Rikku and Rumiku ran around the lobby again, the crowd still

chasing them, and with a running start, they dove over the front desk. Patrick and Noah pulled plants out of their vases and pulled branches in front of

their faces and they all waited until the security guards at the hotel got the people to leave.

"Uh, could someone help me?" Sydney asked.

"Just let go, I'll catch ya" Crystal called as she held out her arms. Sydney squeezed his eyes shut and let go. Crystal caught him easily and he

hugged her tightly, thanking her over and over again.

"Are they gone?" Rikku asked, sticking her head out from behind the front desk.

'Excuse me" the manager said.

"Sorry" Rumiku grinned and the two came out from behind the front desk as Patrick and Noah walked up, brushing dirt and leaves out of their hair.

"Wow, that must suck" Cody said, shaking his head.

"It does when they just chase you around" Crystal said. As they parents got the rooms "I remember once when we were in Florida, we didn't stop

getting chased for hours"

"Yeah, but that was the fastest way to get through Disney World" Sydney added.

"We got the rooms, now we have a few rules" Christian said as he handed his daughter a card key.

"No screaming, shouting, or yelling after dark" Carey said.

"No late night calls from room to room or long distance" Robert continued.

"No room service unless we say you can" Christian said.

"And most importantly, unless you're related to them, no boys in girls' rooms." The three parents said in unison.

"So, who shares rooms?" Zack asked with a flirtatious wink towards Rikku, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Didn't I just say no boys in girls' rooms unless they're related?" Carey asked.

"But we'll be related once we're married" Zack replied.

"And that will be in your dreams" Max said and high-fived Rikku, who nodded in agreement.

"Any way, Zack, Cody, and Tapeworm will share a room. Rikku, Crystal, Rumiku, and Max wil share a room. And Patrick, Noah, and Sydney will share a

room." Christian said.

"What about you guys?" Cody asked.

"You know, I really don't want to know" Rumiku said, holding up her hand as her father opened her mouth.

"Well, lets go to our rooms and check out the hotel" Zack cried and grabbed his bag. The other kids nodded and started to run after him.

"Hold it!" Carey cried.

"We want you to treat this place like the Tipton, but you can't bother the staff of go fishing the restaurant's aquarium, or go sliding down the

ducts, or-"

"Then how are we supposed to treat this like the Tipton?" Cody interrupted his mom.

"Boys" Carey said in a warning tone. "You know what I mean"

"Yes mom" Zack and Cody said unison.


	3. Day One

**Chapter 3: Day One  
**

Carey, Robert, and Christian handed out the room keys, carefully making sure everyone got the right one. "Race ya up!" Zack said, and him Cody, the Hiroshimas, Crystal, and Max and Tapeworm, bolted for the stairs. Carey opened her mouth as if to protest, but by the time she was able to say anything, the kids had long disappeared.

As Cody opened the door to their room, Zack ran past him and claimed the TV remote along with the window side bed. Cody just shook his head. "I wanted the window bed!" He whined. "You got the window seat on the plane, the least you can do is let me have the window side!"

"Sorry buddy," Zack said sarcastically, "But let's go over the rules again, shall we? Second born means...second choice. So once again, I get the window!" Cody opened his mouth to protest, but Tapeworm cut him off.

"Uh guys..." Tapeworm began, "sorry to break up this little family argument, but we got a little problem. We only have two beds and no couch."

All three took a glance around the room. There were two beds and an arm chair that faced a TV that sat on the dresser. "Thats no problem," Zack said in 'matter of fact' tone. "I get this bed, and you and Cody can take turns sleeping on the floor."

"I don't think so." Cody said, glaring at his twin.

"Yeah, just cause you're older than Cody doesn't mean you get to boss me around." Tapeworm protested. "In fact I'm older than you! So I'll take this bed," he pointed to the interior bed, "And you and Cody can take turns sleeping on the floor!"

"Oh yeah?" Zack said.

"YEAH!" Cody and Tapeworm said in unison. They pushed him and he fell over the bed onto the floor. Suddenly they heard a second thud through the wall. "Ooo! You broke the hotel." Tapeworm said.

"No it came from over there." Cody said, pointing to the TV wall. Out of the corner of his eye, and through the door, he saw Rikku and Rumiku running. Cody ran over to the door, but by the time he got there, the hall was empty. "Wonder what's up with them?" He said softly to himself.

"Oh well, they're probably rushing to down to the pool." Zack said. "In fact, that's where I'm going, right now!" Zack grabbed his bathing suit and locked himself in the bathroom. A few seconds later, he walked out wearing his bathing suit and a white tank top. "I'll be right down Rikku," he said with a smile to no one in particular. "Just gotta use a little gun action." He said as he flexed his biceps. "And she'll be all mine!"

Cody was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe and Tapeworm looked away laughing at the ground. "Oh please," Cody said. "As if she's gonna go for your puny bat wings."

Zack's face turned sour. "You're one to talk with your little water pistols." He said, squeezing Cody arm, which instantly flattened his muscle down to his bone."

"Oww," Cody whined massaging his arm. He then grabbed his suit and changed, followed by Tapeworm. Then all three headed down to the pool.

Rikku and Rumiku walked out of the hotel, and into a local market. Each was massaging the opposite side of their head. _Why does he do this to us? _Rikku thought to herself. Soon she cleared her mind though, she knew what her anger could do to her if it got out of control.

"Hi Rumiku," A familiar voice said. The two girls turned around to see Mike standing behind them. "And hi Rumiku's sister.

"The name's Rikku," Rikku said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh sorry," Mike said. "It's nice to meet you." He scanned their faces with his eyes. "What's wrong?" He said.

"It's nothing," Rumiku said coldly.

"Uh, huh," Mike said unconvinced. "I'm gonna guess it has something to do with that bruise on the side of your head. That's gonna leave a mark, what'd you hit it on?"

"A counter, In the hotel room." Rumiku said. "I fell. Not that it's any of your business."

"Really?" Mike said his eyes hopped back and forth from Rumiku's bruise to Rikku's, "So both of you fell and hit opposite sides of your head?"

"Yes!" They replied. "Now leave us alone."

"Ok, but those dressers can hurt, I know, first hand." He said. "Was it one of their new oak dressers, or one of the old cherry ones?"

"If I tell you will you shut up?" Rumiku said. Mike nodded. "We hit one of the oak ones! We were rough housing and hit the oak dresser."

"Oh ok," Mike said. He face looked slightly annoyed but his voice remained as calm as ever. "Now you two wanna stop lying to me?" He looked at their stunned expressions.

"How...dare..." Rikku started.

"Three quick ways I know." Mike cut her off. "First, there are no counters in those hotel rooms." He waved his hand at the hotel behind them. "Second, you said it was a counter, than an oak dresser, well? Which one was it? Third, the only way you both could have identical bruises on opposite sides of your heads is if someone smacked your heads together. Look, I've seen this kind of thing before, a friend of mine went through it. Don't worry though, your secrets' safe with me. Just give whoever's behind it a message for me ok?"

"Ok," Rikku said.

He narrowed his eyes to an almost dangerous level, and his voice was deathly quiet. "Tell him if I notice it again, on you or any of your siblings, he will regret it double for any and every time he's ever touched any of you!"

Rikku gasped slightly and Rumiku took a step back. His expression scared her. "Yea ok."

* * *

Koto watched Rikku and Rumiku a screen in Core's office. Core had instructed Koto to keep an eye on the elementals while tended to some private business. Koto just did as he was told. "Ya know," He said to himself. "If I capture them, it'll be a perfect present for Core when he gets back. He might even make me his partner when he takes over!" Koto smiled, as thoughts of ordering around the rest of Wingz Corp filled his mind. With that, he disappeared.

* * *

Mike started to walk away when a groan from Rikku attracted his attention back towards the two girls. "So girls, enjoying your little stay in paradise?" Koto said as he appeared by a tree on the side of the parking lot. It was getting late, so Koto, Rikku, Rumiku and Mike were the only ones around. 

"As if this day wasn't bad enough already," Rikku growled.

"Mike, get out of here," Rumiku said. "NOW!"

Mike just raised an eyebrow, "Why?" He said in a bored tone.

"Don't ask questions!" Rikku said. "JUST DO IT!"

"Too late," Koto said. "Curiosity killed the cat you know!" He laughed and threw his sword directly at Mike.

"LOOK OUT!" The girls cried helplessly in unison.

Mike smiled and calmly raised his right hand. Suddenly his eyes began to glow blue. A similar blue aura formed around the sword.

"What?" The girls muttered softly, again in unison.

Mike twirled his hand around his head once and then pointed his hand at Koto. The sword flew by his head, circled it once and shot directly back at Koto. The sword went right through Koto's sleeve, just above his shoulder, and pinned him to the tree he was standing against. "Always goes to the left," Mike said, softly, but loud enough for the girls to hear him. He was still smiling.

Cursing, Koto was gone in a quick flash of light.

Mike looked over at Rikku and Rumiku, still smiling, "As I was saying," he said with a hint of arrogance in his voice, "Why should you two have all the fun?"

* * *

"HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST MY ORDERS!" Core thundered. Koto flinched as Core's hand slammed against his desk. "I TOLD YOU TO WAIT! YOU JUST SHOWED THEM HOW WEAK YOU ARE! YOU LET SOME KID STOP YOU WITHOUT EVEN A BATTLE!" 

Core played the video of the sword flying at Koto over and over. Koto flinched everytime he saw himself get pinned against the tree. After playing the video several times, Core continued. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT NOW YOU INSIGNIFICANT FAILURE! STAY UNDER THE ROCK YOU CRAWLED OUT OF UNTIL I HAVE FURTHER NEED OF YOU, YOU PIECE OF FILTH!" Koto, took that as his cue to leave, but on his way out, he noticed someone was blocking the door.

"Who the hell are you?" Core said, looking at the figure in the doorway.

The figure ignored his question and softly said in a cold evil voice "I see you've met my adversary."

* * *

**Please Review**


	4. Night One

**Chapter Four – Night One**

"And you're saying that Mike just held up his hand, an aura appeared around it, and the blade went flying back, pinning Koto to the tree?" Zack whispered as they kids trailed behind the adults. Since it was their first day in Hawaii, the adults were treating the kids to the pig roast that was going to be on the beach.

"Yeah, it was weird" Rumiku whispered in reply.

"And stupid, if that guy didn't have such a big ego, who knew what could of happened" Rikku said angrily.

"Why are you so mad about that?" Patrick asked. "I mean, most times you have an ego as big as he does"

"Especially when we're playing video games" Noah added.

"That's different" Rikku said defensively.

"How so?" Tapeworm asked, tripping over his feet and falling to the ground. Crystal and Max helped him up, but he fell again, bringing the two girls down with him.

"Man, are you ever coordinated?" Max asked.

"Only when he chooses to be" Crystal growled in reply, lifting Tapeworm to his feet.

"I mean, when I have a big ego playing video games, that's for fun, but I'm never arrogant when fighting someone cause I know that that could result in catastrophe" Rikku replied.

"That's true" Sydney agreed after a moment of silence. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "It's cold"

"Here" Rikku said and handed him her jacket. Sydney's eyes got wide as he took it.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'll be fine" she replied. Cody laughed as Sydney put it on and zipped it up. It was so big, it looked like he was wearing a dress that covered his feet, but with long sleeves and a hood.

"Are you sure?" Patrick asked with a worried look on his face.

"I'm a Hiroshima, a tough one at that" Rikku replied.

"Yeah, and a hard headed one" Rumiku muttered under her breath.

"Like there's a difference between the two" Crystal joked rolling her eyes. "Everyone with the Hiroshima blood is always hard headed about something. And when it comes to Rikku, she's hard headed about everything"

"Yeah, is everyone done ragging on me?" Rikku asked annoyed, although she was smiling slightly.

"Not yet, we'll tell you some more when we think of them" Max said, laughing.

"You're dead!" Rikku said. Max laughed and ran ahead of the kids as Rikku ran after her. Max ran around and through the adults and Rikku crashed into her father, who glared down at her. Rikku gasped and took a step back.

"Sorry" she breathed and lowered her head.

"Don't let it happen again" Robert said in a loving tone as he placed his hand on her neck. To the others it looked like a affectionate gesture, but he squeezed her neck tightly, so she hunched up her shoulders in pain. Rikku walked back to her friends, looking over her shoulder at her dad.

"You ok?" Crystal asked.

"Fine" she replies stiffly.

-

"Wow, who knew that the hula dance could be so boring?" Max asked as she cupped her chin in her hands.

"What's worse is when your parents try it" Crystal added as she drew lazy circles in the sand. The kids were sitting/laying on the sand, bored, as they watched Carey, Robert, and Christian try to do the hula.

"Well, as if this couldn't get any worse" Zack said, getting to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Cody asked his brother.

"If you really need to know," Zack said sneering. "I'm going on a walk." He turned to Rikku. "Want to come with me, we can look at the stars along the way"

"I'd do just about anything to get away from my dad," Rikku replied, getting up.

"How about we all go exploring instead, I saw a cool cave on the way over here" Rumiku said, getting up and brushing sand off of her legs.

"But dad said not to wander off" Noah said to her.

"Then you guys stay here and tell them that we…went to the bathroom," Max replied.

"All of you?" Sydney asked in disbelief, raising an eyebrow.

"Tell them something" Tapeworm said, rolling his eyes. "Something believable, we'll see you guys later"

"Ruki, your jacket" Sydney said, waving his arms, so the sleeves slapped Patrick and Noah in the face.

"I told you before, I'll be fine" Rikku replied.

"Especially because you'll have me to cuddle with" Zack said and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Geez, you can never take a hint" Cody said rolling his eyes, and then saw the look on Rikku's face. "I'll do it this time"

"Be my guest" Rumiku said with a smirk. Cody shoved his brother to the ground.

"Ahh, it felt good to do that" he said as if he waited years for it.

"And its going to feel good to bash your head in, with this rock!" Zack said as he grabbed a rock and chased Cody around the beach. Cody turned to look over his shoulder and ended up crashing into someone.

"Oh sorry-Mike?" Cody asked, and Zack skidded to a stop.

"Mike?" Zack said, the rock still raised over his head.

"What are you doing here?" Rikku asked as the others walked up behind the twin boys.

"Well, I can see you're still mad about me beating that dude before you could," Mike said with an arrogant smirk.

"You didn't beat him, you caught him off guard," Rumiku said, frowning.

"I beg to differ," Mike said with a small roll of his eyes. "What are you guys doing anyway?"

"Not that it matters to you, we're just exploring" Max replied. She knew that Rikku and Rumiku said that he was arrogant and somewhat cocky, but this was ridiculous.

"Can I come along?" Mike asked. "Cause I was looking at it this afternoon, as I was walking down the boardwalk and it looked interesting"

"Sure" Tapeworm replied cheerfully. "The more the merrier"

Mike gave a small smile and they started to walk in silence. When they reached the cave, they stopped at the mouth, the warm air blowing at them in the face.

"Are you all just going to stand there, or are you going to go in?" Mike asked as he started inside it. Rumiku threw out her arm, causing him to stop walking. "What?"

"I wouldn't go in there just yet" she said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Well, if you're scared, I understand, but it's a cave, nothing can happen" Mike said and walked into it. Rumiku clenched her fists in anger.

"Don't worry about him" Cody muttered to her as he walked by her. "He doesn't know what he's talking about"

"Why would I be afraid of the dark, if my element is darkness?" Rumiku whispered to Max as they walked along.

"Hey Rikk, if you're scared you could hold my hand" Zack said.

"No need" Rikku took a cigarette lighter out of her pocket and flipped it open. "By the way, that's not my hand"

"That's mine thank you very much" Cody said and yanked his arm away.

"Sorry" Zack said, rolling his eyes.

"These stalagmites have been here for a while" Mike said, more to himself. "The cave must be thousands of years old."

"Where'd you learn that?" Cody asked.

"I just kind of…knew" Mike replied with a shrug. He nodded towards Crystal. "Your cell is ringing"

"Its not-"Crystal stopped when her cell rang. Sighing, she answered the phone. "Hello?" she stopped walking and her face paled. "H-hi dad"

"Uh-oh" Tapeworm muttered.

"Let's get out of here!" Zack cried and the kids, with the exception of Mike, ran out of the cave. Mike walked behind them.

"Ooh, you guys are in trouble" Noah said in a sing-song voice as they ran back up the beach.

"Where have you been?" Carey demanded.

"Uh, we went to, uh" Zack scratched his neck nervously.

"Crystalline, didn't I tell you not to go wondering off if you've never been to a place like this?" Christian asked his daughter, who hung her head in shame.

"All right, whose idea was this?" Robert demanded gruffly.

"It was mine" Mike replied and the kids turned to look at him, shocked expressions on their faces.

"Who are you?" Robert asked, glaring at him. Mike had a calm expression on his face.

"I'm Mike. And I made friends with them when we were on the plane. And I suggested that we go and see the cave" he replied. "Sorry"

"That's all right, I guess" Carey replied with a small smile. Robert looked at him suspiciously, and Mike held his gaze.

"C'mon, we're going back to the hotel" Robert said and grabbed Sydney's hand. Sydney made a face of pain as Robert squeezed his little fingers.

Mike looked down at Sydney's fingers, to his face, then back to Robert's face, an angry look passing through his eyes…


	5. Problems in Paradise

**Chapter 5 – Problem in Paradise**

"It's a shame you gotta leave so early," Carey said as Robert dragged Sydney away.

"Yea I know," Robert said in a regretful tone. "But I think they've had enough excitement for one day."

"Ok, we'll see you back at the hotel." She looked down and smiled at Sydney. "Good night, pleasant dreams."

Robert shook Sydney's arm and he smiled up at her. "You too." Sydney squeaked. Robert gave a small wave at Christian who returned it before he and Carey turned back to the festivities.

Once out of their sight, Robert began dragging Syndey over to the car again. The whole time, Mike glared at Robert, his hand shaking slightly. He briefly glanced over at Rikku and Rumiku who simultaneously mouthed "Don't" over to him. Mike just narrowed his eyes, but calmed down. Suddenly Robert turned around and snapped, "LETS" GO! NOW!" Reluctantly, Rikku, Rumiku, Patrick and Noah did as they were told and began walking towards Robert and Sydney.

Sensing hostility, Cody quickly turned to Mike, "So Rikku told us you flung Koto's sword back at him. How'd ya do it?"

"Yea she said your eyes starting glowing and then an aura or something appeared around his sword." Tapeworm added. "You can tell us."

Mike's gaze softened and a smirk crossed his face as he got an idea. He glanced over at Carey and Christian to make sure they were completely distracted by the hula dancers. He also made sure no one else was watching. "Like this." He said.

Mike pointed his right hand at a small rock that was lying next to him on the ground. Like before, his eyes started to glow blue, and a similar aura also formed around the rock. He then raised his hand so it was out straight and the rock followed suit. Finally he pointed his hand at Robert, and the stone flew forward, whacking Robert in the back of the head. Just as Robert spun around, holding his head, the aura disappeared both from around the stone and from Mike's eyes.

Zack covered his mouth, pretending to cough. Crystal, Tapeworm and Max did the same, trying to hide their laughter. Cody just stared with a 'what-did-you-do' face. Robert, completely unaware of what had happened, just rubbed his head and muttered "damn bugs." Rikku, however knew exactly what had happened and shot a dirty look over at Mike, who returned her look with an 'I-told-ya-so' look.

Zack, Cody, Crystal, Max and Tapeworm headed back over to the dancers, Mike however, headed towards the parking lot.

Mike ran forward and said, "Wait, Mr. Hiroshima."

"WHAT!" Robert snapped. "And it's Sapporo!" He began opening the car door, but stopped as Mike got closer.

"Sorry," Mike said, even though it was obvious he didn't mean it. "I suck with names. Anyway, I don't think we've formally met yet. My mom always said its proper manners to give someone a handshake when you meet them." He extended his hand forward.

Robert gritted his teeth and to the Hiroshimas' surprise, extended his own hand. Mike took it and squeezed Robert's fingers hard. Robert wrenched his hand free and glared at Mike. "Why you..." He said.

Mike's face darkened as he returned his own hand to his side. "Funny," He said, with a calm, almost arrogant voice. "It didn't look that painful when you were doing it to him." Mike nodded his head over at Sydney. Rikku glanced over at him from the passenger seat. and Rumiku leaned forward from the back seat, sticking her head between the driver and passenger seat. Both their faces had looks that could kill on them, but Mike ignored them.

"Get the hell out of here!" Robert glared at him. "What happens between us is none of your business!"

"Maybe not," Mike said, his voice still deathly calm. His eyes continuously hopped from each of the Hiroshimas and back to Robert. "But I thought I should inform you, continuing your current course of action may result in less than desirable consequences. Anyway, I think you said you had to get back, so good night." Mike smiled and walked back over to the fire.

Sydney tapped Rumiku and the shoulder and whispered, "What was that about?" Patrick and Noah also looked over at her.

"I'll tell you later," she replied and she sank back into his seat.

* * *

"I'm not going to ask you again," Core said, his temper growing. "Who the hell are you?" 

A man in his mid forties wearing a black cloak walked passed Koto and into Core's office. He had shoulder length gray hair that fanned out slightly at the bottom, and cold, hollow black eyes. He smiled and softly said, "I am Damien."

"What do you want?" Core snapped.

"I believe it's more a matter of what I can do for you." Damien replied softly. "For a small price that can be determined later."

"And what makes you think I need anything from you?" Core turned towards the window, paced several steps and turned back towards Damien. "Or that you will get anything from me."

"Well for starters," Damien said, making a 'come here' motion at Koto. As if pulled by a magnet, Koto walked over to Damien, when he was right next to him, Damien continued. "You're associate's last battle leaves much to be desired."

Regaining control of himself, Koto's face darkened as he ripped himself away from Damien's grasp. "He just got in a lucky shot!"

"So why don't I test your skills? Right now." Damien said to Koto. Koto dropped into a fighting stance

Core smiled to himself, "This should be amusing." he said softly.

Before Koto could do anything, a green beam of energy snaked around Damien's arm and through his hand. The beam then flew forward and wrapped itself around Koto. The next thing he knew, Koto was being swung back and forth, hitting the floor each time. Each time he hit the floor, a surge of green electricity went through his body. After slamming Koto several times, the green beam retracted and disappeared. Koto slowly got back to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Perhaps an agreement can be reached," Core said, smiling. "I'm listening."

Damien walked over to the window. "I've heard stories about these people who control elements of life, fire, water, darkness, ect...tell me which one is the most powerful?"

Core handed Damien two files, one said Zack Martin: Fire, on the front, the other one said Cody Martin: Water. "These twins are."

Damien smiled evilly, "Twins...this may work out better than I originally anticipated." He looked over at Koto. "Do you think you can handle bringing me the one who controls fire? Or will you be in need of my assistance?"

Koto looked over at Core, "Master Core, I believe myself and the Black Wolves can handle this." He glanced over at Damien, "without _his _help." He got ready to call the rest of the Black Wolves.

"Not so fast," Damien said softly, Koto looked at him. "Wait…until the time is right. Now leave us." Koto looked over at Core who motioned for him to leave.

Core looked over at Damien, "I believe you should follow them anyway, your little friend is sure to be with them. So Damien, tell me more about him…"

* * *

"Marco!" Max yelled, as she blindly waved her hands through the pool 

"Polo!" A chorus of voices responded.

"Zack! Quit splashing!" Cody whined, as Zack started laughing. Cody then smirked and put his hand underwater and hit Zack with a stream of water. Zack went flying through the water, right into Max's arms.

"You're it." Max said, opening her eyes.

"NO FAIR!" he snapped.

"Aww, don't they make a cute couple?" Crystal said.

"Yea, so guys when's the wedding?" Rumiku added.

"Zack, when were you going to tell me? It's not a good thing to keep secrets from your twin." Cody added, laughing.

"It's not good to do this either!" Zack said, dunking Cody, who resurfaced a few seconds later, coughing a little.

"Hey guys." A voice said from the fence next to the pool.

"Oh hey Mike, what's up?" Cody said.

"What are you doing here?" Rikku and Rumiku chorused.

"Still mad at me?" Mike said, smiling slightly.

"YES!"

He shook his head and sighed.

Zack looked over, "You guys are still mad at him for beating Koto? Wasn't that a few days ago?"

"We'll you know Rikku and her grudges." Crystal said

"I don't care about that stupid little battle!" Rikku said. "If you could even call it that!"

"Then what'd he do?" Tapeworm asked, swimming over.

"It doesn't matter now." Rumiku snapped.

"Anyway, I was gonna go back and check out that cave again, you wanna come?" Mike said.

"Cool!" Cody said. "Yea count me in."

"I'm in." Crystal, Max, and Tapeworm said one by one.

"You coming?" Mike glanced over at Rikku and Rumiku. They shook their heads. "I guess you're too scared then."

"Fine, if it'll shut you up!" Rikku said, and Rumiku nodded.

"I guess I gotta go too then," Zack said as he climbed out of the pool. He winked flirtatiously at Rikku. "You know in case you need me to save you." He finished with a smile. Rikku rolled her eyes as she threw him back in the pool.

"Cool," Mike said. "I'll meet you guys in the lobby in a half hour.

Zack, Cody, Rikku, Rumiku, Crystal, Max, and Tapeworm went back to their rooms, changed, and met Mike outside the hotel lobby. As they made their way down to the beach, they heard Koto's voice say, "Well, well, look what we have here."


	6. Put in His Place

**Chapter Six – Put in his Place**

"Looks like he was so humiliated that he came back for another round" Mike said with a small grin. Rikku clenched her teeth, although there was a knowing smirk on her face.

"It seems that we have a group of kids who wouldn't hesitate to kick your butt" Zack shot back as he crossed his arms. Koto looked at him, but then his gaze flicked over to Mike.

"Are you the one that shot the sword at me?" he asked in a cool voice.

"Depends, are you here for a rematch?" Mike asked as he put his arms behind his head and gave a cocky grin.

"You could say that" Koto replied before bending his knees and jumping out of the tree. Cody started forward, but Crystal grabbed his arm.

"Its between Koto and Mike" she said to him. "And if things go wrong, I'm sure Rikk will take care of him"

"That's true" Cody said as he looked towards the red eyes girl who looked amused with the whole thing.

"Be careful" Max called in mock sympathy and shook her head.

Mike glanced over at her before bringing up his arms and crossing them in front of his face. Koto crashed into them and disappeared. He reappeared behind Mike and kicked him in the back. Mike cursed and rolled across the ground before getting back to his feet.

"Guys!"

Tapeworm turned as Patrick, Noah, and Sydney ran up to them. Sydney was carrying his laptop in his arms and ran as fast as his little legs would carry him. "Guys, you might want to see this" Sydney said and opened his laptop.

"What's that?" Rumiku asked, jabbing at a black mass on the computer screen.

"Its Core's land, I mean, he controls those areas," Sydney said as he took a rag out of his pocket. "Don't touch the screen"

"What do you mean its what he controls?" Tapeworm asked. "That's like a quarter of the United States"

"I know, he's using his elemental powers to keep control over the states, and he's slowly working his way over to Boston. Who knows what he can do once he gets control of a country" Noah said.

"Hey, what's Koto doing here?" Patrick asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I don't know, but I'm having a lot of fun watching Mike get his butt kicked" Rumiku said, chuckling. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney looked over at Rikku, who had a happy smirk on her face.

"Gee, do I have to?" she asked sarcastically.

"You're having fun aren't you?" Max asked. Rikku's hands blazed with fire.

"Hell yeah!" she replied and leaped over everyone's heads, just as Koto was about to sink his wolf fangs into Mike's arms. Rikku kicked Koto out of the way, and landed gracefully on her feet, cracking her knuckles. "Now, Koto, are we going to settle this the easy or hard way, cause either way I can't lose"

"What are you doing, this is my fight" Mike said, getting off the ground. Rikku barely glanced at him.

"Not anymore its not" she said and deftly bent back as Koto went flying overhead. "Geez, most times you're smarter then that" she turned towards Koto, her eyes redder than usual, and wolf fangs protruding from her mouth, hissing.

She sprinted forward on all fours and slammed into Koto, knocking him back a little bit. Rikku raised herself back onto her feet and caught Koto's fist

before it hit her face. "What's wrong, you seem to be moving slower than usual"

Koto glared, before he disappeared. Rikku looked over at her friends, who were sitting on the ground, bored; they were used to that stuff. But Mike was looking at her with a mixture of amazement and wonder.

"You guys ready to go to the cave?" Zack asked after a minute of silence.

"Yeah, let's go" Cody agreed and they all started to walk towards the beach cave. Sydney skipped next to them all, stopping along the way as he found shells in the sand.

"Ha that's funny, Mike finally stopped talking" Rumiku said and she, Crystal, Max, and Rikku started to laugh. Mike's voice broke through the laughter.

"How'd you do it?"

"Excuse you?" Zack asked as he stopped walking, the others stopped too. Mike looked at Rikku, who crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the sky.

"How'd you beat him, I mean, the first time it was easy, but now-"

"Nothing is ever easy" Rikku interrupted him. "Let me tell you something. I didn't beat him. Believe me, he's going to come back. And like I said before, never underestimate someone you first battle. Because you might end up getting yourself killed. And none of us are going to be there to save you next time"

"Oh and another thing" Rumiku added. Mike turned to look at her. "Mind your own damn business!"


	7. Captured Part 1

**Chapter 7 – Captured Part 1**

As the group made its way into the cave, Mike stuck his hand out, blocking Rikku's path. "What gives?" She said in an annoyed tone.

"Something's wrong." He said, his voice sounding unsure.

"What's up?" Cody said, looking over.

"That wasn't there before." Mike said, pointing to a larger passage on their left.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rikku said, knocking his arm away. "It was dark last time we were here, you probably just didn't see it."

"I guess he's too scared to go in." Rumiku said smirking over at him.

"Ha," Max said smiling also. "Then I guess he can wait for us at the entrance. Or go running home."

"Well since passages appear out of nowhere, I guess we'll check that one out first." Crystal said, smiling, as the group walked in. Mike shrugged and stayed where he was as if in thought. Cody hung back with him.

"I know that wasn't there last time." Mike said softly. " Also I can't explain it, but I feel like I've been here before."

"Yea, with us." Cody replied. "We were here a few nights ago."

"Yea I know, that's not what I mean." Mike said. "I got this feeling the other night too. I know I've been here before, I just can't remember when or what happened."

"Ook." Cody said.

"Anyway, remember the stalagmites we were looking at?" Mike said and Cody nodded. "That's where they were. It wasn't too dark to see them the other night, which means we would have seen that passage also."

Cody looked back and forth and muttered. "Yea, you're right."

"So ya coming?" Sydney yelled as he trailed back from the group, which was now much further ahead.

"Yea wait up!" Cody said as him and Mike ran forward to catch up. When they caught up, Cody relayed what Mike said to the rest of the group. As he talked, Mike nodded in agreement.

"Please," Rumiku said. "He's probably still shell shocked from the reality check of getting his butt kicked."

"First off," Mike retorted. "I didn't want or need any help."

"Ha!" Rikku said, turning around. "If I hadn't stepped in, we'd probably be rushing your arrogant butt to the ER right now."

"And second, didn't you just say never to underestimate something?" Mike said, his face had an annoyed look. "So…"

"Save it." Max said, cutting him off.

Mike shrugged again and quietly followed the group. As they walked, Sydney noticed Mike's hand stayed close the longer pocket on his left that bulged out in the shape of a flashlight. "What is that?" Sydney asked, shifting his lab top over his shoulder. "You seem to have it with you everywhere you go."

"Nothing important," Mike replied softly, pulling a silver flashlight shaped object out of his pocket. "But if I had used it in my last skirmish, it would have been over before she would have had a chance to step in."

"It just looks like any other flashlight." Sydney said.

Mike smiled slightly and handed it to Sydney so he could take a closer look at it. "It's much more than that. It's saved my life countless times." Mike added.

"What does it do?" Sydney asked as he held the silver object before handing it back to Mike.

"It's a sword." Mike said. "The blade is a laser."

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "A sword? I'd like to see that!"

"I have a feeling you're gonna get to see soon enough, especially if we don't get out of this passage now." He smiled and slid the object back into his pocket. "But I guess I could use some more excitement."

"What are you telling him?" Rumiku said turning around.

Mike put a smirk on his face, "Just that I'm starting to enjoy the excitement."

"Ya know you better watch your head in here." She said. "It's so big you might to get stuck."

Cody turned to Zack and whispered. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. What if the cave collapses and we can't get out?"

They continued to walk forward until the passage led them to a wide ledge in another area of the cave. The floor under the ledge was littered with stalactites. There was also a river that snaked between them that lead to the ocean, which filled an archway on the other side of the room. "I guess we'll swim out." Zack said with a smile.

"Wow." Tapeworm said.

"This is awesome!" Max added.

"Hey guys check this out," Patrick said. "HELLO?" He and Noah yelled in unison.

"Hello? Hello? Hello?" There voices echoed throughout the room.

They group looked around and saw several of the stalactites had blue, green, and purple patterns on them. "It's so beautiful," Crystal said, her mouth hanging open.

Cody nodded, "You know all this was formed by water eroding the rocks over thousands of years?" He said as he also looked around.

Zack slapped him in the chest, "Don't ruin it." He looked at Rikku. "But none of these compare to you."

"Aww, thanks," She said. "Nice try." She smiled. "Appreciate it though."

"At least someone here has a little humility," Rumiku said looking at Mike, who just shook his head. "So what now? Those scary stalactites going to come alive and attack us?" She laughed.

"No that's our job." Koto said as he appeared on one of the stalactites.

"And we love it so much," Rilian said appearing next to him, leaning on the same stalactite.

"It's the best!" Kotaro said as he appeared on the other side of the stalactite.

Mike looked over at Rikku, "Damn you are good! And he's even brought some friends to watch him get his butt kicked." He said with a smirk, before turning his attention back towards Koto. "So what's this? The tie breaker?"

"I thought you learned your lesson last time." Koto sneered.

Rikku and Rumiku sighed. "Will you let us handle this?" Rikku snapped at Mike.

"So what do you three want?" Cody said.

"We're just here to pick him up." Rilian said, nodding at Zack.

"Me?" Zack said, somewhat bewildered.

"Yea, so you gonna come quietly?" Rilian said. "Or will your friends have to die first?"

"Keep dreaming." Max said.

"You guys never learn!" Crystal snapped after Max.

"Quite the contrary," Koto said, as he, Rilian, and Kotaro prepared to attack, but suddenly stopped.

"Let's even the playing field first…" A voice said from out of nowhere.

"I know that voice…" Mike muttered, mostly to himself. His eyes widened as he said, "LOOK OUT!"

Suddenly a green beam slashed the ledge they were standing on several times, causing it to collapse. The kids screamed as they fell, and were buried by the resulting landslide.

"I told you," Koto said angrily. "We can handle this _without _your help."

"Really?" Damien said as he appeared next Koto. "I felt that I should expedite the process."

Koto growled.

"How are you going to use him if you just killed him?" Rilian asked.

"He's fine," Damien replied softly. "See for yourself."

Suddenly, the pile of rubble that covered the Zack, Cody, Crystal, Max, Tapeworm, the Hiroshimas, and Mike exploded. The Hiroshimas were surrounded by a red and purple bubble that was generated by Rikku and Rumiku. Zack, Cody, and Crystal were surrounded by a mixture of water and ice that protected them, and Max, Tapeworm, and Mike were surrounded by a blue bubble Mike was generating. The bubble disappeared, along with the glow from Mike's eyes. Rikku, and Rumiku also stopped generating their bubble, and the water and ice also crumbled to the ground.

"Damien…" Mike said, narrowing his eyes at Damien. "What do you want?"

"Ignorant as ever," Damien said softly. He then glanced at the Hiroshimas, then to Koto, then back over to Mike. "And apparently, arrogant as ever. Now I suppose you'll have to be taught lesson."

Mike smiled, "Yep, try you're best."

Damien motioned at Koto, Rilian, and Kotaro, who leapt forward. He then threw a black ball at the ground. Upon impact, the ball exploded, and filled the room with thick black fog.

"I can't see anything!" Rikku said.

"Stay close," Cody said, as the kids huddled together.

"Look out!" Rumiku said as Rilian suddenly appeared and kicked Cody in the stomach. He hunched over in pain as Rilian disappeared again into the fog.

"Cody!" Crystal said. He looked over at her as the fog grew thicker and thicker. Finally, he couldn't see her anymore. He couldn't even see an inch in front of him.

"This is fun!" Kotaro said, as he rained attacks down on Patrick, Noah and Sydney disappearing into the fog after each one. He then reappeared and hit each with another attack. After a several cycles, the three collapsed.

"This is for earlier," Koto said as he kicked Rikku in the throat. Then he disappeared back into the fog, as Rikku gasped for breath. Her and Rumiku were back to back, trying to protect themselves. Koto's next blow hit Rumiku in the leg causing her to fall into Rikku, knocking them both over.

Zack looked around him, trying to tell when and where an attack would come at him. He backed up a couple of steps before bumping into Mike. "Oh its you." Zack said, looking over. He was barely able to see Mike's face.

Suddenly a green beam tore through the fog, aimed directly at Zack.

"Zack! Look out!" Mike said, flinging Zack behind him. The beam hit Mike and wrapped around his chest and stomach. Waves of green electricity surged through the beam and into Mike's body. He screamed and fell to his knees, as wave after wave of electricity surged through him. Soon, he lost consciousness, and collapsed completely to the ground. Even though he was unconscious, the beam continued to electrocute him.

"Mike!" Zack said. A ball of fire appeared in his hand, which he then flung at the beam, causing it to disappear. Zack then flipped Mike over and checked his pulse. Faint, but there. Small rise in Mike's chest, also told Zack he was still breathing. A second later, the green beam was back and wrapped itself around Zack's body, arms and legs. Zack tried to resist, but the attempt was futile. Just like with Mike, electricity began to surge through Zack's body, causing him to scream each time a wave of it hit him. Suddenly he could feel the beam pulling him through the air as the electricity continued to burn into him. The last thing Zack saw was a man in a black cloak, before his world went dark.

"I have what I came for," Damien said softly. "Let's go."

Finally the fog disappeared, along with Damien, an unconscious Zack, and Koto, Rilian, and Kotaro.

* * *

**(A/N) Don't own laser swords. Review?**


	8. Captured Part 2

**Chapter Eight – Captured Part 2**

"ZACK!" Cody shouted, leaping to his feet, but he knew that his brother was gone.

Mike got to his feet, swaying slightly, but regained his balance. He looked around and saw that the others were struggling to get out from underneath the rubble."Need help?" Mike called.

"No!" came Sydney's muffled reply before the rocks blasted apart. He stood up, the light blue glow fading from his body. The others stood up and brushed sand and dirt off of their clothes.

"So, are we going to find Zack or what?" Mike asked.

"No" Rikku replied. Cody looked at her, she seemed thoughtful about something."No?" Mike cried. "Let me get this straight, when one of you guys are kidnapped, you don't help them"

"Lay off!" Max snapped.

"Yeah, I'm sure that Rikk has a good explanation for her decision, she always does" Crystal replied and then hesitated. "Well, maybe not always"

"I do have a good reason" Rikku said, dropping her arms at her sides.Mike looked at her right arm and saw the bandage that covered it. He raised his eyebrows as he listened to what Rikku had to say. "I know where they took him, but we can't go without causing our parents to worry like crazy. Because if we just disappear for weeks at a time with, like, no explanation"

"Really, then where is he, hot shot?" Mike demanded. Rikku ignored him and turned to Cody, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me Cody; I care about Zack almost as much as you do, but I think you'll see that I have a point" Rikku said.

Cody sighed and gave a small smile."I know you're right" he admitted.

"Wait a second" Patrick said with a stupid smile on his face as he walked over to his sister. "Did you just say that you care about Zack?"

"When did that happen?" Tapeworm added.

"I didn't mean that" Rikku warned him.

"Say what you mean and mean what you say" Max said in a sing song voice as Cody started to laugh.

"Hey, we gotta go" Noah said, looking at his watch.

"Yeah we gotta practi- I mean we have to go, dad wants us to do something for him" Sydney added.

"Don't worry Cody, we'll get Zack back, for now, just tell her he went exploring and will be back soon" Crystal said.

Cody nodded, a small smile forming on his face."I've got an idea that will trick mom, its going to be kind of hard, but I know it will work" he said confidently.

"All right, so we better get back before your dad, your dad, or your mom wonders where we are" Tapeworm said nodding to Crystal, Rumiku, and Cody in turn.

"Right" Max nodded and the kids left the cave. Mike slowly walked behind them, deep in thought. Sydney turned to ask him something, but Rumiku grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

'What's up with that bandage on her arm?" Mike asked himself.

-

Zack slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was in some kind of cell, and it was small and cramped, there were no beds and only a hole in the floor where he could go to the bathroom. Zack sat up and groaned, feeling the lump on the back of his head where he got hit.

"Hey, he's awake!"

"Someone get Damien!"

"No need, I'm right here"

Zack growled as Damien and Core walked over to him. They peered into the cell and smirked at Zack."What do you want with me?" Zack demanded.

"To help get your friends, of course" Core replied and motioned to the computer screen. Zack glared. On each portion of the screen it showed all of his friends, in their hotel rooms sleeping. "As you can see, we've been monitoring you guys and you can attack them at any time and any place"

"What do you mean I can attack them?" Zack asked.

"Open the cell" Damien instructed to Reihu and Caos.

Reihu nodded fearfully, but Caos openly glared before opening the cell. They grabbed Zack by the arms and pulled him out of the cell.

"Let go!" Zack cried. Reihu and Caos tightened their grip on Zack's arms. Zack grinned and flames erupted on his arms, causing Reihu and Caos to cry out in pain and bring their arms away.Damien held out his wrist and pressed a button, the green beam shot out of his wrist band and hit Zack. He screamed in pain and collapsed to his knees as volts of electricity shot through his body. He whimpered as Core put his foot on his side and pushed him over.

"Man, if he's this weak, we should have tried to get him a long time ago" Core sighed.

Damien bent down and put a black and red necklace around his neck. As soon as Damien snapped it in place, Zack's eyes shot open, blazing red.

"Hmm, now we can finish the rest of our plan" Core said with a sinister smirk, before turning to Zack. "Will you do everything we say?"

"Yes, master" Zack replied and grinned.

-

Cody sat up with a gasp. Tapeworm, who was a light sleeper, rolled over to face him and opened his eyes. "Codes, what's wrong?" he asked.

"We have to go back to Boston" Cody replied.

"What? Why?" Tapeworm cried, now fully awake.

"Something's up with Zack, Core is getting closer to Boston, and we need Maddie's help, we might have a big battle on our hands" Cody replied with a sigh.

"Are you sure?" Tapeworm asked as the two got up and quietly began to pack.

"I've never been more sure about something in my life" Cody said staring at his best friend seriously.

"All right, I believe you" Tapeworm replied and continued to pack before going to wake up the others…

* * *

**Review?**


	9. Fire, Water, and Betrayal

**Chapter 9 – Fire, Water, and Betrayal**

Zack was trying to yank the necklace off, but it was useless. Each time he tried, the necklace glowed red and froze about halfway up his neck. Next he tried holding it out and blasting it with a ball of fire. The necklace was unphased and remained fast around his neck.

Core and Damien walked over to Zack's cell, Koto, Reihu, and Caos followed closely behind them. "The time has come." Damien said evilly.

The necklace began to glow bright red, and just like before, Zack's eyes turned blazing red. "Yes master?"

Core smiled, and motioned to Reihu and Caos. "Let him out." They each grinned as they walked over to unlock the cell. As Zack stepped out of the cell, fire consistently appeared and disappeared around his fingers.

"So," Damien said provocatively, "I hear that you are the most powerful elemental in existence."

The fire around Zack's fingers intensified. "Yea that's right." He said grinning.

"But wait…there was one other…" Damien continued. "One with even more power. One who could destroy you…"

The grin disappeared from Zack's face. His red eyes began to glow with rage. "Who? I'm the most powerful!"

Core smiled as he also began provoking Zack's anger. "A simple question, requiring a simple answer. Water easily destroys fire."

The flames around Zack's hands continued to intensify until they surrounded his hands with two glowing fireballs. "My brother can't even touch me!"

"However," Damien said softly. "There is a simple solution to this little problem. Damien's face had a look of pure evil on it. Even Koto and Reihu took a step back. "Prove us wrong. Eliminate him."

The smile returned to Zack's face. "With pleasure." He said.

"Keep his friends away," Core said to Koto, Reihu, and Caos. "I know you can handle them. Take Rilian and Kotaro with you." He then looked at Zack. "They won't interfere." Zack smiled again, and a second later they disappeared.

"Excellent." Core said looking over at Damien. The two began walking back to Core's office. "His brother won't even fight back. With him out of the way, and Fire working for us, no one will be able to stop us."

"Yes," Damien said. "Also you need not worry about my little rival. I shall personally see that he is taken care of."

"Excellent." Core said again.

* * *

"Well, if you're sure, I'm going to wake up the others." Tapeworm said, zipping his suit case. 

"OK, I'll see ya in a few," Cody said as he briefly glanced over before turning back to packing his own things. Suddenly a soft orange glow outside the window caught their attention.

"What was that?" Tapeworm said, freezing in the doorway.

"Dunno," Cody said looking over. He walked over to the window and couldn't believe what he saw. Zack was standing alone out in the parking lot. "Z-Zack?" Cody said softly, mostly to himself.

"Cody! Hello!" Tapeworm said.

"I think it was Zack. He must have gotten away somehow."

"Zack?" Tapeworm replied raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"I'll check it out," Cody said firmly. "Go wake up the others."

"I don't like this, how do you know it's not a trap?"

"Trust me."

Once Cody got outside he looked around and soon found he was the only one in the parking lot. "Zack? Zack!" He called.

"Over here little brother"

Cody saw Zack standing in the back of the parking lot on side of the hotel near the dumpster. "Zack!" He said again running over. "Boy am I glad to see you!"

Zack smiled. "The feeling's mutual." He said in a cool voice. Cody's eyebrows twisted slightly in confusion. He heard Zack's voice, but there was something about it. Something different…something evil.

"Are you ok?" Cody asked cautiously walking forward.

"I will be." Zack replied. With that, he smiled evilly and his eyes began blazing red. Before Cody could react, a fist surrounded with fire slammed into his stomach.

* * *

"What's he thinking??" Rumiku said, stunned when Tapeworm told her, her siblings, Crystal and Max about Cody. 

"He isn't!" Crystal replied. Then she rounded on Tapeworm. "Why didn't you go with him?"

Tapeworm shrugged. "I trust him. Cody's too smart to walk right into a trap."

"Not when it comes to rescuing his family." Rumiku said. "He's blinded by his worry for Zack."

"Any of us would have done the same thing." Rikku said as she crossed her arms across her chest. "If one of us had been in trouble."

"Which means we gotta get to him! NOW!" Crystal said. The others nodded as they headed for the elevator.

* * *

Cody screamed as Zack hit him with another blast of fire. He fell on all fours, breathing heavily, trying to grasp the situation. Why was his twin...his flesh and blood attacking him? He felt completely betrayed and alone. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Cody yelled looking up. 

Zack's answer was a kick aimed at Cody's face. Cody put his arm up to block it. Suddenly, Zack disappeared and reappeared behind Cody. He finished his attack before sending another blast of fire at Cody who a second later, slammed into the side of the dumspster. Zack began walking forward, smiling. Cody groaned as he tried to collect himself. As Zack approached, Cody noticed a red and black necklace around Zack's neck.

* * *

Finally the elevator reached the lobby. The group bolted out the door, and a step later were met by Koto, Reihu, Caos, Rilian, and Kotaro. 

"Where's Cody?" Tapeworm said angrily.

Reihu smiled. "He and his brother are taking care of some sibling rivalry."

Rumiku's face had a look that could kill on it, "Get out of our way…" she said dangerously.

"Sorry, but this party's by invitation only." Koto sneered.

"But don't worry," Caos said with a smile. "You'll see him again soon, just not in this world." With that, Koto, Reihu, Caos, Rilian, and Kotaro each drew their swords and leapt forward.

- Cody's POV -

Zack continued to mercilessly rain attacks down on me. I couldn't even block properly, let alone counter attack. As Zack finished his latest round of attacks, I crumpled to the ground, breathing heavily between groans. It hurt so much. Not just the physical pain, but the pain of knowing my own twin was attacking me.

_He must be under some kind of control! _I thought, remembering the necklace. _How could I have been so stupid? How could I just walk right into a trap? _

For a second, I just stared at the ground, wondering why didn't I figure it out earlier. I saw Zack smile as he grabbed me at the shoulder and pulled me to a standing position. _What? Why's he helping me up??_ I thought. Zack's eyes seemed to blaze with satisfaction.

I swayed, trying to keep my balance, Zack still holding me up. Suddenly, Zack wrapped his arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides. Zack smiled and softly said, "You know, you were always my main squeeze." With that, Zack snickered and started squeezing me, pressing my ribs into my lungs. Pain erupted throughout my chest as he began to literally crush me. I felt like a mouse in a python's coils. With each passing second, my breaths grew shorter and shorter. It became nearly impossible to breathe, as Zack's grip grew tighter and tighter.

I twisted, and struggled, trying to free myself: trying to escape the pain, but it was useless. I was too weak from Zack's assault earlier. All I could do was scream and strain for air. The pain continued to worsen as the pressure continued to build inside me until I felt like I was about to explode. Soon, my screams turned to wheezes as my struggle for air continued. I felt my ribs caving in. It felt like they were slowly cracking under the pressure of Zack's embrace. Finally I couldn't breathe at all. Zack obviously figured this out, because I saw his smile grow as he squeezed harder and harder.

"Zack…please….st-" I am barely able to choke out with what traces of air I could force into my lungs. With that, I could feel Zack squeeze as hard as he could.

"Good night Cody," I heard Zack say as my vision blurred and darkened. "And good bye."

Finally my world went completely black. My body limp in his grasp…


	10. Leaving Part 1

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short.**

**Chapter Ten – Leaving Pt.1**

Patrick cried out and bent backwards as Reihu's sword went flying overhead, almost hitting him in the face. Reihu snarled and stabbed again, but Patrick bent to the side, grinning at Reihu, angering him even more.

"Thunder First!" Patrick slammed a electricity covered fist into Reihu's stomach, causing him to go flying back into a wall.

"Who was that guy that was with you the last time, the guy with the green beam?' Rikku asked as she and Koto moved back and forth across the floor, matching each punch and kick.

"Some guy that only Core trusts, but he seems to be pretty strong, so it was a good thing he made us trust him" Koto replied with a small eye roll.

"You don't like him?" Rikku questioned, jumping back as Koto tried to kick her in the stomach.

"Just not used to taking orders from someone I don't like" Koto replied and raked his claws across her side.

"I know what you mean" Rikku said as the two charged towards each other, fists outstretched.

Their fists hit each other's foreheads and they froze, blood slowly trickling down their noses. Reihu grabbed Koto's arm and they, Rilian, Caos, and Kotaro disappeared.

"I see you still haven't defeated them yet" Mike said as he walked up to the group of kids, carrying his 'flashlight'.

"They were stronger than usual" Rumiku said, rolling her eyes. "But guys, I just thought of something"

"What's that?" Patrick asked, wiping blood off his arm.

"How are we going to get back to Boston, without Carey or Dad knowing the reason why, I mean, Crystie-Chan's dad already knows about our elements, Carey and dad don't" Sydney replied.

"We'll tell them that London called and told us to come back to Boston for a talent show, she's so stupid that if they call, they would believe us" Crystal said.

"I'm going too" Mike said suddenly.

"Why?" Rikku and Rumiku asked in unison.

"Who knows, we could use his help, and if you've forgotten, we need to get Cody and get him out of here before something bad happens" Tapeworm said and the kids ran outside, dragging their suitcases behind them.

"Cody!" Crystal and Rumiku cried out in unison.

Zack turned and hissed before dropping Cody to the ground and disappearing. Tapeworm knelt down beside Cody and propped him up into a sitting position, but his head rolled back.

"Is he dead?" Sydney asked, spooked.

"No, he's just knocked out" Tapeworm replied and barely lifted Cody onto his back.

"Let's get to the airport" Crystal sighed.

'How are we going to pay for it?" Noah asked innocently.

"Leave that to me" Rumiku replied as she pulled a credit card out of her pocket and waved it around.

-

'You know dad's going to get mad at us for taking his credit card, right?" Rikku asked as they waited to go back to Boston.

"We'll take that risk if he ever gets to Boston" Rumiku replied. Rikku turned towards Mike.

"All right, its time to get some answers from you" she said. Mike looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I know- we know, you're an elemental. So you might as well tell us how you got your element and what your guardian is" she replied.

"I don't have to tell you anything" Mike replied defiantly, complete with a smirk.

"To be with us, you do" Max replied.

"Then how about a deal, if I don't tell you now, I'll tell you when the time is right"

"Deal" Tapeworm sighed…


	11. Leaving Part 2

**Chapter 11 – Leaving Part 2**

"No deal," Rikku snapped. "Spill, now!"

"In case you haven't noticed," Rumiku said angrily. "This is no time for your arrogance."

"Yea," Crystal added. "That guy, who I guess you know cause I heard you say his name, kidnaps Zack. Then Zack almost kills Cody!"

"So we can either do this the hard way or the easy way." Max finished.

Mike sighed and said "Look, I don't even know what an element or a guardian is, so I guess you can tell me that. Anyway, that guy's name is Damien."

"Damien," Rikku repeated.

"So if he's your enemy, why is he attacking us?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know," Mike said. "Probably for the same reason that other guy attacked me."

"He attacked you because you didn't get out of there like we told you to." Rikku replied coldly.

A smirk appeared on Mike's face. "Like it did him any good anyway."

"Why does Damien hate you anyway?" Sydney asked looking up, hoping to stop a potential argument between them.

"We met for the first time a while ago." Mike said and looked over at Sydney again. "I'm sorry I lied to you before." For once, there wasn't an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Sydney asked his eyes twisted in confusion.

"On the plane, I told you my parents sent me here." Mike continued. "My parents are both dead. They died in a plane crash. Shortly after I went to live with my best friend." He shot a look over at Rikku and Rumiku.

"So what does that have to do with Damien?" Crystal asked.

"I'm getting there." Mike said. "Anyway his parents were abusive. I learned that after just one night of living there. I tried to keep it a secret that I knew, but after one really bad episode, he found out I knew."

"So he took off in the middle of the night. Luckily I'm a light sleeper and heard him. I was too late to stop him initially, so I took off after him."

-Mike's POV-

"Dude what are you doing?" I said, out of breath when I finally caught up to him. I held my hands on my knees as I panted.

"I can't go back there," He said. I looked down at the ground as I gasped for another breath trying to calm my breathing rate. When I looked up, I noticed that he took off again. A second later I heard him scream.

"WHAT DID YOU SEE?" A voice yelled as I heard him scream again.

I rushed up to where I heard the scream and was stunned by what I saw.

"N-nothing!" I could hear my friend. He then screamed again as what looked like a green energy beam hit him.

There was a middle-aged man in a black cloak with gray shoulder length hair that fanned out at the bottom and cold hollow black eyes. Next to him was motionless body. Also next to him was my friend on the ground, curled up in pain. The man kept whipping him with the green beam. Every time it hit him, my friend screamed in pain as green electricity surged over his body.

I stood motionless, too scared to do anything. _Should I go call the cops? No it's too late for that! But what can I do?_ I heard him scream one last time before all thoughts but one left my head. I had to help him! No matter what!

I leapt forward. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I was shaking with anger.

The man smiled and flung the beam at me. Suddenly, something in me snapped. My eyes started glowing bright blue. The same blue aura surrounded my body, forming a protective bubble. The beam bounced harmlessly off it.

A second later, the bubble disappeared as I held out my hand. "Shadow ball!" I yelled. A small black ball of energy formed in it, which I then flung at him. While it was en route, he growled and disappeared with a wave of his cloak.

- Normal POV-

"A few seconds later," Mike continued. "My eyes stopped glowing and I ran over to my friend. He was unconscious, so I brought him home, only to have his parents awake and waiting for us. His parents were so angry about him running away, the next day, they gave him his worst beating ever." He shot another angry look over at Rikku and Rumiku. "He died later that night in the hospital."

They others stood silent around him.

"Anyway, Damien and I met a few more times. After the first one though, I developed this." He hit a button on the side of his 'flashlight.' A beam of bright blue energy erupted out of it into a the shape of a blade. The middle was so bright it was practically white. A few seconds later he hit the button again and the blade disappeared. "So let's get to Boston." He said as he put the 'flashlight' back in his pocket.

"We haveta buy the tickets first." Rumiku said.

"What if I could get you there faster than anything in the world?" Mike said with a smirk. "Put your hands on my shoulder." The Hiroshiimas, Crystal, Max and Tapeworm did as they were told, each had an "ook" look on. Tapeworm still held Cody on his back.

Mike's eyes began to glow bright blue, as his body and everyone else's began to glow white. A second later, they disappeared.

The group reappeared outside the Tipton hotel in Boston. "Man that was fast!" Crystal said.

Mike looked up and smiled. He was on his knees and one hand, and was breathing heavily. "Yea…no…problem." He said between breaths.

"You ok?" Tapeworm said looking over.

"Yea…just…took…a little…more…than…I…thought."

"Hey I think Cody's waking up!" Rumiku said. Tapeworm set Cody gently down on his back on the ground, still holding up his head.

"H-hey guys," Cody said weakly. "What's up?"

* * *

**Review? Please**


	12. Talking to Maddie and Julius

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the rest.**

**Chapter Twelve – Talking to Maddie and Julius**

"Look, there's Maddie and Julius" Patrick said and the group of kids walked over to the candy counter. Tapeworm followed slowly, holding onto Cody's arm, making sure he wouldn't fall.

"Julius, Maddie, we need to talk" Rumiku said breathlessly.

"What are you guys doing here?" Julius asked, confused. "Aren't you supposed to be in Hawaii for the concert? And who's that guy? And where is dad?"

"The Black Wolves came and got Zack under their control. We came here to get your guys' help. That guy is Mike, and dad is still in Hawaii," Sydney replied in one breath.

"What?" Maddie and Julius cried.

"Ok, let me reiterate this" Max said slowly. "Zack has been taken hostage, there's this dude with a green beam that shocks us, and we have no clue where they're going to strike next!"

"Well, how did you get here if you needed a plane?" Maddie asked.

"I teleported them here" Mike replied. "I decided to come and give you all the help you need."

"How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Rikk, stop!" Noah snapped, cutting Rikku off. Everyone looked at him in shock. "Mike is right, we do need all of the help we can get, he knows what Damien can do, and he'll be able to help us if we ever need it."

"Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"How can this kid help us?" Maddie asked.

"Trust me, I can help, I'm very powerful" Mike replied.

"Are you an elemental, do you have a guardian?" Julius asked, lowering his tone as a few guests and Mr. Moseby walked by the candy counter.

"That's the weird part, he doesn't know what the two of those things are" Tapeworm said, shaking his head. "I'm going to get Cody to his suite so he can rest"

"What happened to him?" Maddie asked, placing her pink hands on his forehead.

"Well, like we said, Zack is being controlled by Core or Damien of whoever, and he was trying to crush Cody" Tapeworm replied.

"Well, he should be fine in a few hours, but we still need for him to be rested" Maddie said. "Go on and take him up to his suite"

"What are you guys going to tell Carey, Uncle Christian, and Dad if they call?" Julius asked slowly.

"We already got that worked out, don't worry about it" Crystal said with a wave of her hand.

"That's not what I'm worried about" Julius sighed, running his fingers though his hair.

* * *

**Review?**


	13. On My Own

**Chapter 13 – On My Own  
**

Tapeworm gave the others a final wave good bye before the elevator doors closed between them. Tapeworm still supported Cody by having him hold onto his shoulder. About a minute later, the elevator bell went off, telling them they were on the 23rd floor. They then headed towards Cody's suite, which Tapeworm opened up before setting Cody gently down on the bed.

"Thanks," Cody said, slightly opening one eye.

"Yea no problem," Tapeworm replied with a smile. "Get some sleep now."

Cody closed his eyes again and softly muttered, "I'm sorry."

Tapeworm's eyes twisted in confusion. _Why is he apologizing? It's my fault for not going with him_. "It's not your fault," Tapeworm said, "Now get some rest. You'll need your energy. I think you were right. We're gonna have a big battle coming up."

Cody didn't respond as he was fast asleep. Tapeworm pulled a chair over and sat down, watching him as he slept. He began to think about what might happen if Zack and Cody met up again while Zack was still being controlled. _It's like Rumiku said, 'He's blinded by his love for his brother' I wonder if he can still help us. I don't know, I talk to the others._

Also, every time Cody took a deep breath, he also made a sickening glupping sound. After thinking back to what happened, Tapeworm began to think that Zack may have broken a couple of Cody's ribs. Despite how badly they would need him, Tapeworm couldn't help but think that Cody might not be able to help them with their next battle.

The thought continued to circle around his mind as the day's events took their toll. Soon Tapeworm dozed off, and within moments, was also fast asleep.

* * *

"So who's hungry?" Julius said. After a chorus of "we are," he and Maddie led everyone down to the restaurant. Neither Rikku nor Rumiku however was in the mood for food. They followed the others to the restaurant before breaking off and walking towards a nearby balcony. They briefly glanced at each other before turning their attention to the star filled sky. Though neither said anything, they both knew what the other was thinking.

"Hey girls," A voice said behind them. Rikku and Rumiku glanced back to see Mike standing there with a couple of pieces of chocolate cake. "You gottta eat something."

"I'm not hungry," They chorus.

Mike noticeably rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Here we go again." He muttered, but still said it loud enough for them to hear. He then glanced at Rikku. "Look I know you care about Zack…"

"WHAT?" Rikku said, cutting him off. "Please! Give me a break!" Rumiku also smirked at him as if it was the stupidest thing he had ever said.

Mike smiled. "Come on, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to figure it out. You like him and care about him. Admit it." Her lips stayed tightly pursed together. Mike sighed and continued. "Whatever, anyway you're not going to do him any good unless you 're at full strength."

"And like that's going to help?" She replied. "Look, thanks, but I don't need anyone looking out for me, especially you." With that she turned away.

"Look," Mike said narrowing his eyes. "You keep telling yourself that, but let me just explain something. Before Zack got captured, he saved my life. That's not something I'm going to leave unpaid. So you can keep up the tough girl act, but I'm going to do whatever I can to help him."

With that she left, shaking her head. "Guess I hit a soft spot," Mike said with a smirk. He then sighed and set the cake down before leaning against the balcony next to Rumiku.

Rumiku glanced over briefly at him before turning back to the starry sky. Without thinking, she did it again, but quickly looked away before he noticed. She then made a third glance over at him, again without him knowing. Her gaze then fell on his eyes and seemed to freeze there. There was something different about them. They didn't hold the hard, cocky look she was used to. Instead they held a look of thought and almost seemed to have a slight amount of sadness. Moment later, Mike's eyes flashed in her direction, causing her to look away.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," She replied. He turned to face her, a smile forming across his face.

"Haven't you learned by now not to lie to me?" He said with a small laugh.

Rumiku smirked. "Nope, sorry. But with your arrogance, it's impossible to learn anything from you."

They both laughed. "Kinda hard not to be when you've been on your own as long as I have." Mike said with a sigh, although his face still held a smile.

The smile left her face, as a look of confusion replaced it. "What? What do you mean?"

"After my friend died, that place didn't feel like home anymore. It also wasn't long before his parents started being abusive towards me. They actually thought what happened was my fault. That I convinced him to run away. Soon, I couldn't take it anymore and took off. No one ever came looking for me because I also took and burned all my custody papers. When his parents were arrested, it was basically like I was erased from existence." He explained.

"Don't you have any family anywhere?" She asked.

"Somewhere, maybe," he replied casually. "But being on my own isn't that bad. I survive off of odd jobs and such. Also having my abilities makes things easier."

"Wait, so are you even going to try to find your family?" She asked, still in a slightly shocked tone.

"No."

"Don't you ever get lonely?" She asked.

He shook his head. "All that would do is give Damien another way to attack me."

"Oh." Was all she could say. For the next few minutes, the two just stood there, staring at each other in silence.

Finally Mike said, "Anyway, why do you guys put up with the way you're treated. You're better than that. You don't deserve any of it." She scanned his eyes. "Why not just put an end to it?"

She sighed. "I have others to think about beside myself. If our secret was ever exposed, we would be split up and never see each other again."

Mike shook his head. "That's not true, I know it. I know there's someone close to you who would be more than willing to take all you guys. All I know is that I'm not going to let history repeat itself. I promise I'll protect all of you."

"Thanks," She said softly. A soft wind pulled on their hair as they continued to silently look at each other, slowly getting closer and closer. Before either knew what was going on, their lips met as they kissed under the starry sky.

* * *

"So, tell me," Damien's voice said softly, but obviously filled with fury. "Why is your brother still alive?"

"I don't know," Zack said sarcastically. "Maybe if they would have done their jobs and finished off the others, I could have finished him off."

Damien put his hand on Zack's shoulder. "Now, don't pass the blame on. You failed. A failure that will not be taken lightly. However since your reputation denotes a second chance…you will be granted one."

Core looked over and smiled. "Yes my young warrior, your time will come. I am quite sure that you will not displease me twice. Now leave us"

Zack smiled again, "No problem. The next time I see him, will be the last time." He then turned and walked out.

"Oh, before you go," Core said, drawing Zack back into his office. "Take a message to Koto and the others. Tell them I wish to speak with them."

"Yes master." Zack said as he left the room.

* * *

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	14. Torture

**Chapter Fourteen – Torture**

Rumiku's eyes snapped open when she realized what she was doing and pushed Mike away from her, staring at him in horror.

"What the hell was that?" she sputtered. Mike cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Well, you may not know this," he started. "But that's a sign of affection that people call a 'kiss'"

Rumiku's eye twitched. "That was not a sign of affection! Why'd you kiss me anyway?"

"Excuse me? But I could of sworn it was you who kissed me" Mike replied calmly.

"Ha!" Rumiku raised her eyebrows. "Why would I want to kiss you?"

"I was going to ask you the exact same thing," Mike replied evenly and then smiled inappropriately. "But I can't help it if you find me attractive"

"You can drop dead for all I care" Rumiku said, shaking her head and looking at her feet.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well?" Mike asked.

"Well what?" Rumiku asked sharply, glaring at him.

"Well aren't you going to leave? Whenever someone says a line like that, they storm out" Mike replied.

"Do you make a joke out of everything?"

"Only things I find amusing" Mike said with a chuckle.

Now Rumiku was really pissed. She turned to completely face Mike and glared so fiercely that he couldn't help but take a step backwards.

"This isn't funny! Thanks to you, I'm getting attacked more often than I usually would, and now its starting to cut into my job, my social life, and my sleep!" she snapped, taking a menacing step towards him with each list.

Mike stared at her, listening carefully.

"And I don't think that this is freaking funny!" she said jabbing him in the chest with her finger. "Now if you would excuse me!"

She whirled around and stalked into the restaurant. Mike sighed and hurried after her.

"Hey, Rumi, come and eat some of this, it's really good!" Patrick called, waving a piece of bread over his head. Rumiku nodded and started to walk to the table.

Mike grabbed her arm and whirled her around, pressing his lips against hers. At the table, Julius, Maddie, Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Max, and Crystal stared, their mouths dropped open.

Shocked and angry, Rumiku pushed Mike away from her and slapped him on the cheek before going up to her suite. Mike rubbed his jaw as he turned to the others.

"Has anyone ever told her that she could probably beat up a professional wrestler?" he asked as a joke, to break the silence.

"Yeah, but who knew that she would ever have to use it on you?" Max snickered.

* * *

"Hey Koto, Master wants to see all of you" Zack said, grabbing the half-wolf's tail. 

"Ow! What for?" Koto demanded.

"Probably to scold you guys for messing up" Zack replied and continued to his room.

"Zack, come here" Core called, striding down the hall after him. Zack sighed and turned around, following Core into the room. Core closed and locked the door behind Zack, sending him into darkness.

Suddenly, Zack felt something hit his back, a line of fire. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees.

"W-What are you doing?" Zack gasped as the light came on in the room and he saw Core holding onto a whip.

"I'm going to teach you what's right and wrong. Staying with us is right, going back to your brother and friends is wrong" Core said and started to whip him again and again.

"Ow! No, please stop!" Zack cried cowering in fear.

"I'm not going to stop until I'm sure you're part of this team!" Core said and continued to whip him…

* * *

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	15. Questions

**Chapter 15 – Questions  
**

Zack laid on the floor whimpering in pain as Core wrapped the whip around his arm and left the room. On his way out, Core saw Damien sitting against the door, with a slight smile on his face.

"Although I definitely approve of your disciplinary methods," Damien said in a soft voice "it is quite unnecessary to worry where his loyalties lie.".

"How is that?" Core responded, with a tone of darkness in his voice.

Damien's smile increased as he took the whip from Core and twirled it over his arms. "With each passing second his hatred for the others grows. That necklace not only gives us full control of him, but it also destroys any affection he may have for his friends or family. Soon he will completely hate all of them with all he is, and will be our eternal slave. When that happens, not even destroying it will have any effect. His soul will be mine."

"His soul?" Core asked.

"Yes."

"How long will it take before this transformation is complete?"

"It's a gradual process, and depends on the strength of his heart and mind" Damien explained. "However it will be complete approximately twenty-four hours from the time we put it on him."

The smile on Core's face grew. "This is the end for them."

* * *

Rumiku darted across the lobby and into the elevator. Tears formed in her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but soon they flowed freely down her now red cheeks. 

"Why did I have to kiss him?" She yelled to herself in the elevator as she pounded her fist against the wall. "Nice going! How could you let yourself do that? He's such a jerk! He's so freaking rude and arrogant! I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM!"

With that she slid down the wall of the elevator and sat down in the corner. Her hands covered her eyes as she continued to silently sob. She felt completely torn inside. Half of her hated Mike for all he was. She hated him for his arrogance, for kissing her, and for him ever even meeting her. And yet, her other half told her that he wasn't that bad, and that in reality she really cared about him. The feeling continued to tear at her insides until the ding of the elevator brought her back to reality.

Rumiku slowly stood up and walked out of the elevator. She walked over to her suite and reached into her pocket to grab the key card, only to find her father's credit card was the only occupant of her pocket. She slammed her hand on the door, before bringing it back and generating a ball of dark energy.

"RUMI! DON"T!" A small voice said behind her.

Rumiku whirled around to see Julius, Maddie, and Sydney running up to her. Julius's face cracked into a grin, "You know what kind of mess that would make?"

"Do you think I care?" She snapped at him.

"No," Julius said, not smiling anymore. "But you will if you blow that door up."

The ball in her hand grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared. She then clenched her hand into a fist again and slammed it against the door. "Look I just want to be left alone. Please just give me your key."

"So you can blow up the inside of our suite instead?" Julius said. "I know how your temper gets."

"Don't worry about him," Maddie said in a soothing voice. "I'm going to check on Cody, how bout you come too?"

"Ok," Rumiku replied softly. "Wait who's watching the others?"

"Max and your boyfriend." Sydney answered. As soon as the words left his lips, Sydney knew he made a mistake. He threw his hand over his mouth as Rumiku shot him a look that would have meant death for anyone else. "I'm sorry Rumi." He said through his fingers. Quickly taking action, Maddie put her arm around Rumku and steered her towards Cody's suite.

When Tapeworm heard them enter the suite, he ran over to see who it was. A breath of relief left him when he saw it was Maddie and Rumiku. "Oh, hey guys." He said softly.

"How is he?" Rumiku said.

"Sleeping, I think he's still a little hurt though." Tapeworm answered.

"I'll take care of that." Maddie said with a smile and then left them to go heal Cody's injuries. A few moments later she came back. "Well he's all set, just needs some rest."

Maddie and Rumiku saw a look of concern wash over Tapeworm's face. "What's wrong?" Maddie said.

Tapeworm took a deep breath and explained his position to them. "Look, I don't think Cody should fight this one. It's too dangerous for him."

"What are you talking about?" Rumiku said. "We need all the help we can get. Even his…" She slammed her hand on the coffee table.

"What's up with her?" Tapeworm asked, his eyes scrunched in confusion.

"Don't worry about it," Maddie said. "Anyway as you were saying."

"Anyway, it's like Rumiku said before," Tapeworm continued. "Cody's blinded by his worry about his brother. He already fell into that trap once. Zack would have killed him if we didn't show up. I know Core's going to try that again. I don't want to see him get himself killed. We're just going to haveta fight this one without him."

"How do you know they're gonna try that again? Core doesn't seem to like to use the same plan twice." Maddie replied.

Rumiku turned to Maddie, "I think he's got a point. As much as Rikku and myself hate to admit it, Zack and Cody are the two most powerful elementals. Core knows this. He knows that Cody is the only one who stands a chance against Zack."

"What about that Mike kid?" Maddie asked. "Look Rumiku set your problems aside for a minute. Is he really as powerful as he says?"

Rumiku gritted her teeth. "Yea he's got some skills. But he's extremely arrogant too. But…" Her voice broke.

"Besides," Tapeworm said looking up. "He also is the only one of us who knows what Damien is capable of."

"Yea I remember Sydney mentioning something about a guy named that earlier, who is this Damien anyway?" Maddie asked.

"Some guy that I guess Core is teaming up with," Tapeworm explained. "He uses this green energy beam that electrocutes people. Anyway he seems really strong. Mike and him have faced off several times I guess."

"Oh." Maddie said. "But anyway, back to Cody for a minute. Are you completely sure that he shouldn't fight?"

Both Tapeworm and Rumiku shook their heads. "No." they said in unison.

"Ok," Maddie replied. "But who's going to break it to him?"

* * *

Julius ran into Rikku as he headed back down to the restaurant to pick up Patrick and Noah so they could get to bed. When he filled Rikku in on everything that happened between Mike and Rumiku, she clenched her fist until her nails dug into her palms. "I'm gonna kill him." She said. 

When Mike saw them, he ran over. "So how is she?" He asked as Rikku's hand connected with his face.

Mike rubbed his cheek and smirked. "Wow, you two really are twins."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rikku said.

Mike took a deep breath and smiled again. "I was about to ask you the same thing. What's up with all these secrets? It's obvious she's attracted to me."

"And it's…" Rikku began, but Julius stepped in.

"Anyway, if this battle is as big as you guys said, I need to know, just how powerful are you?" Julius asked.

Mike cocked his head to the side and put on an arrogant smirk. "Eh, nothing you gotta be worried about. I'm really powerful." With that a couple of blue sparks jumped around his eyes.

Julius also smiled. "So then you wouldn't mind a little demonstration of what you're capable of. How about a little one on one sparing match?"

"Sure."

"Oh and one other thing," Rikku interjected. "This is a practice match, so no using that flashlight thing or whatever it is."

Mike smiled again, "Fine by me." His eyes glowed blue and the 'flashlight leapt out of his pocket, and into her hands. A second later, the glow disappeared from around it as well as his eyes. Rikku growled and shook her head in disgust. "Three taps on the ground means stop?" He asked looking over at Julius.

"Sounds good," Julius said.

"All right, just one quick thing before we get started," Mike said as they walked outside into an open area so they wouldn't destroy anything or be seen. "What is an element? And what exactly is a guardian?"

* * *

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	16. Their Decision, Cody's Defiance

**Chapter 16 – Their Decision, Cody's Defiance**

"Ok, an element is what I have." Rikku sighed as she waited for the sparring match to start. "I can control fire, I can even conjure it. A guardian is someone who will come to you when you have awakened to your powers"

"Oh, when did you awaken to your element and how did you get your guardian?" Mike asked her. Rikku hesitated before answering.

"I'll tell you that when its time for you to know" she replied. "What about you, how did you get your element?" she twirled Mike's 'flashlight' in her hands.

"From the definition you gave me, I'd say that I have an 'ability' not a element" Mike replied.

"Whatever," Rikku said, rolling her eyes.

"Let's start." Julius said and sank into a fighting stance.

"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you. I'm very powerful." Mike said as he stood on the other side of the clearing.

"I was about to tell you the exact same thing" Julius said with a smirk.

He charged towards Mike, who just waited for him to come closer. Julius pulled back his fist, getting ready to punch him in the face. A blue "bubble" formed around Mike, protecting him. Julius cried out as he slammed into the bubble and was blasted backwards. He landed on his feet and growled.

Julius rubbed his hands together until they felt warm, brought his arms back, and clapped his hands together, shooting out a bolt of electricity. Mike conjured a black ball of energy with blue sparks around his hand and shot it forward, hitting the thunderbolt, causing it to implode, sending smoke everywhere. Julius covered his mouth as he tried to see Mike through the smoke. Mike smirked as his eyes glowed blue and his body glowed blue. Rikku watched in interest as Julius also glowed blue. Mike raised his arms in the air and lowered them back down at a fast pace. Julius was raised off the ground and slammed back down, emitting a low cry of pain.

"STOP!" Rikku called and slapped the ground three times before jogging over to her brother.

Mike looked startled as he stopped glowing. "What's wrong?"

"That's enough is all," Rikku replied in a slightly cool tone. "It's getting late, we better go inside and get some rest. Are you ok?" she asked her brother.

"I'm fine," he assured her, getting to her feet. "Its just weird," he murmured in a low tone, so Mike couldn't hear. "I couldn't contact Rudin to help me."

"I know, I could sense it, that's why I stopped the battle early." Rikku replied.

The three walked into the hotel and froze when they saw Christian, Carey, and Robert standing a few feet in front of them.

"Oh boy" Julius and Rikku whispered in unison.

"Rikku, come with me, Julius go find your brothers" Robert said as he 'gently' took Rikku's arm and led her towards the elevator. Julius nodded and went off to find his brothers.

Mike, suspicious, followed Rikku and Robert as they went to their suite. They left the door partially open when they arrived. Mike peered through the crack in the door and saw Rikku and Rumiku standing in front of their father, their backs to him. He had a belt in his hand and was walking in a circle around the two girls, as if deciding who to hit first.

Suddenly, he lashed Rikku across the back. She didn't cry out in pain or wince; she just stood there, glaring at the ground. Robert lashed the belt against her back three more times, before doing the same to Rumiku's back.

Mike clenched his hand into a fist so hard that it drew blood.

"You two are so stupid! Didn't you think that I would find out that you were trying to get away from me?" Robert demanded.

"We weren't trying to get away from you. We were-" Rikku was cut off by a punch to the jaw.

Angrily, she whirled around and punched her father in the face with full force, causing him to stumble over the couch and crash into the wall behind it, knocked unconscious.

"You shouldn't have done that, now he's going to come back twice as mad," Rumiku said as she went to get ice from the freezer.

"I don't care, I just wanted to stop him from talking" Rikku said with an inappropriate grin on her face.

* * *

The next day, Julius told Cody about their decision about the inevitable battle against Core and Damien. And he didn't take it too well.

"Cody, listen to me, you know that Core is going to try and lure you in, just by using Zack" Crystal said gently.

"But I know that I can make him snap out of it." Cody pleaded. "You guys can't do this to me."

"Cody, I've told you this once before, I care about Zack almost as much as you do, but knowing Core, the decision we've made is the best one at a time like this" Rikku said calmly.

"I agree" Mike said suddenly. "You can still help us, Cody, but you'll just put yourself in more danger of being caught if you go against Zack or something"

"Exactly, we don't want you to be caught in another trap" Crystal said gently.

Cody sighed, defeated. "Fine" he whispered.

No one knew that he had his fingers crossed behind his back…

* * *

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	17. Blazen's Warning

**Chapter 17 - Blazen's Warning**

Angry and hurt, Cody turned to walk away from them. _How could they do this?_ He thought. _He's my brother! I can change him back, I know it! And that's what I'm gonna do, with or without their approval!_

Suddenly a flash of light turned his attention back towards the others. Standing where the light had been was Zack's guardian, Blazen.

"Blazen?" Cody said, startled.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"You guys gotta hurry and get Master back before it's too late." Blazen replied. He seemed somewhat out of breath.

"What do you mean?" Julius asked.

"Core and that other guy…" Blazen began.

"Damien?" Mike said, cutting him off, and getting a scowling look from Blazen.

"Yes," Blazen continued. "Anyway like I was saying you don't have much time. They did something to him. I could feel it. It's slowly destroying all the good in his soul. Soon he'll be just like Core."

"What??" Rikku said.

"They're using this red and black ornament…"

"A necklace?" Cody said, cutting him off again. The others looked at him. "I noticed it while I was fighting him."

"You mean while you were getting your butt handed to you." Max said with a small laugh. Cody shot her a dirty look.

"Can we please focus here?" Blazen said. "Anyway as that necklace destroys the compassion and love within him, it replaces it with hatred and evil. You gotta destroy it before it's too late. Otherwise the Zack we know will be gone forever."

"Can't you do anything about it?" Julius asked.

"I'm trying to slow its effects as much as I can," Blazen said. "But as far as stop it completely no I can't."

"Exactly how much time do we have?" Julius asked

"I don't know for sure." Blazen replied with a sigh. "I just know it's not much. I can feel the hate growing inside him. It's getting stronger and stronger. So my best guess would be a few hours if that."

"Thanks Blazen," Julius said. "Go back to Zack and see what else you can do." Blazen nodded and was gone again in a flash of light.

Rikku looked over at Mike. "That's a guardian." She said.

"Oh," Mike replied. "Nope I don't have one of those. At least that I know of."

A moment later, Patrick and Noah came running up to them. "Sydney said he'd be down in a minute." Patrick said.

"Yea he just had to finish up a few things." Noah added. "Except…"

"What?" Rumiku asked.

"While we were leaving, we also heard Dad say he wanted to talk to him."

Rikku and Julius both looked at each other for a second. "No…" She whispered. Julius nodded.

"What does that mean?" Mike said after hearing the exchange between them.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about." Rikku snapped.

The look on Mike's face darkened. "If….he…"

Rumiku nudged his shoulder. "Don't" She said in a deathly quiet tone.

Mike looked over at her and smirked. "Don't worry." With that his eyes started to glow blue and his body, white. A second later he was gone.

Without thinking, both Rikku and Rumiku bolted for elevator.

* * *

**- Sydney's POV-**

"YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A SON!" Robert yelled as his hand smacked me across the face, leaving a large red mark, along with the explosion of pain I was used to. Several marks just like it dotted my face. "I TAKE YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC SYBLINGS IN, AND HOW DO YOU REPAY ME? BY RUNNING AWAY!"

I covered his face with my hands as Robert continued to beat on me physically and verbally. "WHAT"S WRONG? AREN"T YOU GOING TO CRY?"

"YOUR PARENTS WERE LUCKY THAT THEY DIED." Robert continued as he smacked me over and over. My screams intensified each time, but I still held back my tears. "YOU WANNA KNOW WHY? BECAUSE THAT MEANT THEY WERE FINALLY RID OF YOU!"

Finally the tears started to come out. They continued to stream down my face like an endless faucet.

"That's…not…true…" I said through the tears I had formerly been fighting back. I can take his abuse, but not when he talks about my parents. I knew I had made a mistake as soon as the words left my mouth, but I didn't care. My parents loved us, and I know they did. Nothing Robert could say or do would ever change that.

Robert growled and kicked me in the stomach, causing me to double over and cough up blood. "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A LIAR!" He raised his hand again.

Suddenly there was a flash of white light between us followed by a wave of blue light that surrounded Robert before flinging him into the wall. I looked up and saw Mike standing in front of me. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was furious. It felt like pure anger was radiating from his body.

"I thought I told you before to leave them alone." Mike said in a poisonous tone that was as quiet and calm as death itself. I knew what this voice meant. There wasn't any sarcasm or joking in his voice. It was hollow and dark. Wait, when did I hear it like that before? A second later, I remembered back to our first night in Hawaii.

**- Flashback -**

_Robert glared at Mike. "What happens between us is none of your business!"_

_"Maybe not," Mike said, his voice still deathly calm. His eyes continuously hopped from each of us and back to Robert. "But I thought I should inform you, continuing your current course of action may result in less than desirable consequences. Anyway, I think you said you had to get back, so good night." _

_I tapped Rumiku and the shoulder and whispered, "What was that about?" Patrick and Noah also looked over at her._

_"I'll tell you later," she replied and she sank back into her seat._

**- End Flashback -**

_Less than desirable consequences?_ The words kept spinning in my head.

A second later Robert scrambled back to his feet and glared at Mike. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Mike continued to stand as still as a statue. "You call yourself a father." He said.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Robert yelled as he whirled around and grabbed a pistol out of a drawer in the side of the cabinet.

"Please no." I wanted to say but my mouth was as dry as a desert. The rest of me stayed petrified with fear. Mike on the other hand seemed unphased. In fact he was probably smirking his usual cocky grin.

"YOU GOT TO THREE BEFORE I'LL KILL YOU!" Robert said.

"Don't tempt me." Mike replied, again as calm as death itself.

"YOU BASTARD!" Robert yelled as he squeezed the trigger.

Time seemed to slow down. The whole room also seemed to turn blue. At the same time Robert's finger hit the trigger, Mike's 'flashlight appeared in his hand, and as the fire erupted from the end of the barrel, a blue blade of energy erupted in front of Mike from the end of his 'flashlight.' There was a small flicker in the blade from where the bullet impacted it.

Next I saw Mike leapt towards Robert as the gun went off two more times, each followed by two more small flickers on his blade. I screamed each time. Finally the blade burned through Robert's hand. The gun fell to the ground as he screamed in pain. His other hand frantically reached for a knife as Mike's blade silenced his scream after a small twirl.

I screamed again as Robert crumpled to the floor and the blue blade disappeared.

"Your nightmare is over." Mike said comfortingly as he put his 'flashlight' away, walked over, and gently picked me up. A moment later we glowed white and disappeared before reappearing in the hallway by Rikku and Rumiku.

"Is he ok?" Rumiku asked, worried.

"He is." Mike replied.

A moment later, the others joined us, with the exception of Cody. "You guys ready?" Julius asked.

"Yep," Mike replied. A second later Mike's eyes began to glow again as all of us glowed white and disappeared. We were on our way to put an end to Core and Damien once and for all.

**- Normal POV-**

"Are you sure about this Master?" Phantom said wearily.

"Yes!" Cody replied. "Let's go!"

With a sigh, Phantom grabbed Cody's hand and the two were off on their way to Core's hideout. When they got close, Cody looked down and saw everyone else appear.

"Take me up to the top floor." Cody said to Phantom.

"Yes Master."

The two flew up to a balcony near a series of high arching windows. Phantom let go of Cody before disappearing. Cody landed on his feet. A moment later, there was a flash of lightning that lit up the sky.

"Glad you could make it little brother." A voice said.

Cody spun around and saw Zack, standing in the door way, waiting for him…

* * *

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	18. Koto Part 1

**Chapter 18 – Koto Part 1**

"Something's wrong here" Rikku muttered as she looked around.

"What do you mean?" Julius asked, grabbing his sister's shoulder. Rikku cocked her head to the side.

"Normally, we wouldn't be able to get into a 100 foot radius of this place, invisible, flying, underground, or in bright daylight without being blasted back by some sort of force field."

"Right, and we got in here somewhat easily" Tapeworm said, catching on.

"I don't like this," Patrick said, shaking his head. "It's too quiet, it's like they're-"

"Waiting for us." Noah finished his sentence.

"It's because they are, I can feel it" Rumiku said darkly. Suddenly she cried out in pain and grabbed her forehead, sinking to her knees. Mike was immediately at her side.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked, reaching out to brush hair away from her face. Sydney smacked his hand away and pushed him back a little bit.

"Don't touch her," he warned in a slightly quivering voice. Mike's eyes narrowed and he stood up. "Rumi, it's alright, we're right here with you." Sydney whispered.

"What's going on?" Maddie asked, grabbing Julius' arm.

"Nothing you need to worry about" he said dismissively, pulling his arm away. "But I agree with Patrick and Noah, be on your guard when we go inside"

"Guys, Cody's not at the hotel!" Crystal said as she snapped her cell phone shut.

"WHAT??" The other kids yelled and Crystal nodded.

"I just called the hotel, to tell him that we safely got here and no one answered-"

"He could be in the bathroom or something and not have heard the phone" Tapeworm said quickly, Crystal shook her head.

"I called Mr. Moseby and he said he hadn't seen Cody all day, so I asked him to check the suite, and he wasn't there or anywhere in the hotel."

"Then where can he be?" Max asked.

"Inside," Mike replied. "C'mon, let's go."

Rikku held out her arm and Mike crashed into it. He sent her a withering look, waiting for her explanation. "I'll lead you inside, you don't know where you're going"

"Whatever your royal highness" he replied sarcastically.

"I'm going to let that one slide by, because there's a really good chance that you'll die in here." Rikku said as she walked ahead, not turning around.

"I bet she'd be extremely happy if that happened" Mike murmured, rolling his neck.

"Don't mind her, this place just brings back bad memories." Rumiku sighed as she walked behind her siblings.

"Like what?" Mike asked curiously. Rumiku shook her head.

"You'll find out when the time is right," she replied with a mysterious smirk.

"I hate it when someone tells me that," Mike whined slightly. "Are you ok? What was with the screaming?"

"Just got a headache." Rumiku mumbled in reply. "Why do you care?"

"If you haven't realized it yet, you must be slower then I thought" Mike said, rolling his eyes. "No offense." He added quickly, seeing Rumiku's glare. He lowered his voice. "I'm surprised you haven't figured out that I really care about you and-"

"Would you stop it already?!" Rumiku cried as she stopped walking. Mike stopped and stared at her. The others stopped walking, but Rumiku motioned for them to continue. "You can't love me, and I can't love you"

"So are you admitting that you're attracted to me?" Mike asked with a small smile.

"NO!" Rumiku yelled. She covered her face with her hands and sighed in exasperation before drawing them away again. "What I mean is, everyone is in danger just being around me or my siblings. Especially Rikk and me. And if I ever got a boyfriend, then they would be the main target against me."

"I don't care" Mike said stubbornly. "I care too much about you getting hurt," he moved closer as it he was about to kiss her, but Rumiku backed away.

"Mike, stop it" Rumiku said quietly. She lowered her head. "I don't know what's been going on lately. But I've been really confused about my feelings for you and about what's been happening. And that's all I can say right now"

With that she turned and walked into the mansion after the others. Mike sighed and followed slowly.

* * *

"Be on your guard" Sydney whispered as the group of kids inched along the deserted hallways. Rikku passed by a big tube and stopped and stared. 

**-Begin Flashback-**

_"What's that?" 10-year-old Rikku asked as she and Rilian walked along the hallways._

_"Oh, that's a elemental beast" Rilian replied. "We found it when it was asleep and drugged it and brought it here to help us carry heavy things. And we were able to get some element samples from it"_

_"But why leave it in the tube?" Rikku asked staring at the hybrid wolf that was inside. It stared back at her with sad eyes._

_"It's too powerful to be left running around, c'mon, we have work to do" Rilian said and continued down the hallway._

_Rikku turned back to the wolf inside the tube. "Don't worry DalFang, I'll get you out of here" she whispered and continued after Rilian. She stopped short. "How'd I know its name?"_

**-End Flashback-**

Rikku growled under her breath and walked after the others, growling. Patrick looked over at his sister with a sympathetic smile. He placed his hand in hers and gave a gentle squeeze. Rikku smiled back at him and mussed his hair.

"Hey, we're entering another room" Tapeworm's voice pulled Rikku out of her thoughts. She clenched her hands into fists when she sensed someone on the other side of the room.

As soon as Max opened the door, she was grabbed by the front of her shirt and was thrown across the room into a wall. She cried out in pain as Koto appeared on the rafters above her.

"Koto!" Noah cried and started to pull out the sword.

"STOP!" Rikku shouted, getting to her feet. "This fight is between me and him, you guys get out of here and find Cody and Zack!"

"But-" Julius was cut off by a familiar scream of pain.

"That's Cody!" Crystal gasped. She turned back to Rikku. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, go!" Rikku snapped, a chain sickle appeared in her hands. She turned back to Koto when she was sure that the others were gone. "Koto, I'm surprised you want to get your butt handed to you, again"

"You'd be lucky if you could even touch me!" Koto snarled, his canines getting longer. He launched towards Rikku and tried to scratch her with his wolf nails, but she blocked him with her chain sickle.

She threw the chain sickle at his head, but he blocked it and kicked her in the gut. She couched and stumbled back against a wall. Koto aimed a punch at her head, but Rikku ducked and he punched the wall, cracking it.

Rikku took the opportunity and raised her foot, kicking him in the gut, and sending him flying back. He hit the ground with a dull thud, and got back to his feet quickly.

"Hard to believe that since we've known each other for so long that we'd be fighting," he said, wiping blood off of his lip.

"How is that surprising?" Rikku snarled, holding up her fists.

"Remember when we first me? We didn't fight at all" Koto replied.

**-Begin Flashback-**

**Rikku's POV**

_I pulled my black cloak tighter and pulled the black hood over my head. The people that walked by me looked at me as if I were an alien. But I didn't care. I was way past caring._

_"Rikk, c'mon, it's time to go" Rumiku muttered, nudging my arm and pulling up her hood. I nodded back and turned to see where my brothers were. Patrick and Noah were taking turns feeding Sydney the ice cream we got. Rumiku whistled and the three pulled up the hoods on their cloaks and got down from the table._

_Noah hoisted Sydney onto his back and walked over to us. Rumiku and I are both nine, girls, and angry at the world. Patrick and Noah are six, too young to care about much, but old enough to understand what happened to us a few weeks ago. And then there's Sydney, who's 1. He's way too young to know what happened, but he has lots of nightmares from the incident._

_The incident I'm talking about is my parents dieing. They died in a terrible house fire, along with our older brother, Julius. And pretty much ever since they died, three weeks ago, we're staying the orphanage, alone, and angry._

_But no one is angrier than me, because I killed my parents, on accident._

_I started the fire that ended my brother's and my parent's life, just because of my stupid element._

_"You're angry, aren't you?" a voice asked. I turned around and glared at the boy with shaggy dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes that stood behind me._

_"That's none of your business" I snapped._

_I looked the boy up and down, he had a blank expression on his face, and his green eyes made the scar on his nose stand out more. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt, and black jeans._

_"That just proves my point" the boy said, walking towards me._

_"Who are you, what do you want?" I asked._

_"Name's Koto" he replied, brushing his hair out of his eyes with his shoulder. "And I just want to talk"_

_"How old are you?" I demanded._

_"Nine" he replied._

_I studied him for a few minuets and looked over my shoulder at the advisor of the orphanage. Seeing that she had enough trouble with getting my siblings to listen to her, I knew it was going to take a while._

_"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, turning to Koto._

_"Your anger" he replied._

_"What makes you think I'm angry?" I asked casually._

_"Your body language." Koto replied, kicking a rock into the street. "The scowl on your face seems to be etched into your skin, and the way you're standing shows that you've just been through something really depressing"_

_"Oh, what do you know?!" I snapped, crossing my arms._

_"I know you could use parents, a family" Koto replied._

_"I have a family!" I shot back._

_"But you have no parents" he replied._

_"How do you know that?" I asked him quietly. He ignored the question and continued with what he was saying before._

_"If you ever need a family, come see me," he said and handed me a slip of paper with an address scrawled across it._

_"Whatever." I said, crushing it in my hand._

_There was a strong gust of wind and when I looked up…_

_He was gone…_

**-End Flashback-**

"It wouldn't matter; you were just using me anyway!" Rikku growled and charged towards him again. She punched at his head, but he grabbed her arms, pinning them so she couldn't move.

"So what if we were using you, I knew it was wrong all along" Koto said quietly.

"Yeah right" Rikku replied. "You only wanted me there to help you kill people"

"At first" Koto admitted. Suddenly his eyes flashed red and a snarl appeared on his face as he shoved her back and repeatedly kicked her in the stomach.

She coughed up blood and fell back on the ground, breathing heavily. Coughing up blood again, she uttered a low cry and fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Julius, and Rumiku suddenly stopped running and gasped, holding onto their stomachs. 

"What's wrong?" Max asked.

"I think something happened to Rikk" Rumiku replied grimacing in pain…

* * *

**A/N: We have made a new forum and here's the link to it.**


	19. Fire, Water, and Desperation

**Chapter 19 – Fire, Water, and Desperation**

"Zack," Cody said softly.

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky as Cody and Zack stood motionless, staring at each other. Zack slowly began to walk forward, as Cody stood motionless, watching his brother approach. Zack's eyes were blazing red and he had a large smirk plastered on his face.

"So little brother," Zack said maliciously. "You ready to die?"

"Zack," Cody pleaded. "Listen to me. That necklace is destroying you! Soon you'll be just like Core."

Zack didn't reply, so Cody tried again. "Zack! Please this isn't you! You're my twin! You love me! You would never hurt me. You're not evil! They're controlling you! You can break free. I know it!"

* * *

Core smiled as he and Damien watched the two brothers on a screen in Core's office. 

_"You can break free! I know it!" _

"Wishful thinking," Core said with a smile. He then looked over at Damien. "How much longer until his transformation is complete?"

Damien smiled. "It won't be long now. His soul is almost completely consumed by the hatred and darkness. Soon serving us will be all he will live for."

"How long is soon?" Core said with a hint of impatience.

Damien smiled again, and softly said, "Less than a half hour."

* * *

"Zack, let me help you!" Cody continued to plea, as Zack began to walk forward again. Suddenly he stopped. His eyes flashed from red back to their normal color as he grabbed his head. His face twisted to one of agony. 

"It's working." Cody said softly to himself._ Zack must be fighting it! Come on! Fight it!_ He thought. "Come on Zack! Fight it!" Cody yelled.

A second later the necklace and Zack's eyes glowed bright red. Zack looked up, smirking again. His face was full of hatred and evil. "Why would I do that when I can fight you?" he replied as fire began to erupt around his fists, instantly evaporating the rain around him. "Since I'm feeling somewhat generous, I'll make sure your death is quick."

Cody sank into a fighting stance. "It's not gonna be so easy this time." He replied coldly.

"I would hope not," Zack said. His grin grew as he leapt at Cody. Cody's hands began to glow as a ball of water formed in each. As Zack neared he flung each one at Zack as hard as he could, before leaping into the air. Zack batted each away, but they had done their job.

With Zack distracted, Cody landed a powerful kick right in the middle of Zack's chest. Zack growled as he slid back and recovered.

"Fire punch!" he cried as a fresh set of flames appeared around his hands. He then aimed his fist at Cody's face. Cody blocked it with a shield of water and sent a return blow at Zack, who also blocked the attack. During the next few exchanges, the two continued to match each other blow for blow, block for block. Finally each landed their next attack, sending the other flying backwards. Zack screamed as he crashed into the wall, while Cody flipped over the balcony behind him.

At the last second Cody grabbed the edge with his fingertips. His body swung forward and back a couple of times as he dangled hundreds of feet in the air. Cody tried to pull himself up, but initially the wet floor made it difficult, a moment later though, he summoned all his strength and flipped himself back onto the balcony. At the same time, Zack also leapt out of the crater he formed in the wall.

"Looks like you've been practicing," Zack said with a smile, as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "So, let's take this up a notch."

Zack's whole body became engulfed in flames as he charged at Cody. At the last second he disappeared, and Cody was hit with nothing but wind. Confused, Cody kept his guard up, wondering where Zack's next attack would come from. A second later, Zack reappeared and slammed into Cody, who screamed as he crashed through one of the windows. Cody barely had enough time to collect himself before he was forced to roll out of the way of some falling debris.

Zack didn't waste any time taking advantage of the situation. He leapt through the window and landed with his foot on Cody's right arm, pinning Cody on his back to the floor.

Grinning, Zack pointed his finger at Cody and began to shower him with fireballs. Cody tried to conjure a shield of water to protect him from the attack, but Zack shifted more of his weight onto Cody's other arm, ending the effort, and putting Cody in even more pain than before. Zack's smirk grew as he continuous increased the quantity of fireballs that fell on his brother. Cody screamed and writhed as white hot pain burned through his body. Soon, the pain was so intense that Cody's screams could be heard by everyone else in the building. As the screaming continued, Zack's output continued to increase.

Suddenly, Zack stopped. Breathing heavily, Cody slowly opened his eyes, and saw a finger about a foot from his face. In front of Zack's finger was a large fireball.

"Zack…please" Cody said softly in a pain filled voice. "Fight it. Please." Tears began to form in his eyes. "Please fight it."

"Before you die, I guess I can do you a small favor," Zack said. He smiled as Cody's eyes widened. "I'll let you see the fate of each of your pathetic friends."

A screen behind Zack blinked on, and Cody gasped at what he saw. He watched Rikku collapse after Koto's attack. The screen faded out, before showing another video. One by one, through Zack's fireball, Cody watched his each of his friends fall victim to one of the Black Wolves.

"No more. Please...stop...please..." Cody muttered, as the tears began to flow. It felt like every time one of Cody's friend's was attacked, he felt their pain too. It was the pain of knowing his friends were in trouble and not being able to do anything. Not able to do anything because he was also trapped. Trapped with death sitting inches from his face.

Rumiku appeared next. She grabbed her head again and collapsed. The last thing he saw before the image switched again was Mike getting hit by a green beam as he ran towards her. After the image switched, it showed Crystal.

"No! Please! NO! NO!!" Cody said as he watched her get blindsided. "No. NO. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cody yelled, and as he did, something inside him snapped …

* * *

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	20. Koto Part 2

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is really short. Next one will be longer.**

**Chapter Twenty – Koto Pt.2**

"Nice job guys, now's the time to finish them off" Koto said to the rest of the Black Wolves as they approached the kids who were trying to get up. Rikku was still unconscious, lying on the ground.

"Rikk, get up!" Patrick wailed, struggling to his knees.

Nothing happened.

"Stay away from me!" Crystal hissed as Rilian walked towards her. He smirked and kicked her in the face, causing her head to snap back against the ground.

Koto grinned as he grabbed Rikku's shoulder and rolled her over onto her back. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and narrowed in anger. She grabbed Koto by the throat and threw him back against the wall. He slid to the floor and looked over at her in shock. Patrick got to his feet and looked at his sister before hurrying to get the others to their feet.

"Hurry, we have to get out of here!" he said and grabbed Max's arm, trying to get her up.

"What? What's going on?" Mike asked as Noah grabbed his arm.

"If you stay here you'll find out," Rumiku shot back as she started to run towards the open down on the other side of the room. "Now I regret coming back."

"STOP!" Rikku shouted, rising to her feet, her eyes glowing redder than usual. Koto groaned and shook his head, getting to his feet, as the others froze where they were, afraid to run.

Rikku turned to the BlackWolves, who had backed into one corner. Smirking to herself, she slowly started to undo the bandage on her right arm. Julius' eyes widened and he pushed Maddie behind him.

"Mike, Crys, Sydney, set up a force field" he said in a shaky tone as his eyes grew wide. Patrick and Noah latched onto Rumiku, squeezing their eyes shut in fear.

"Right" Sydney nodded. He closed his eyes and glowed blue as a small force field surrounded Maddie, himself, Max, and Tapeworm.

"Ice Sheild" Crystal said and a ice shield covered her and Julius.

"Why?" Mike asked, his impatience growing.

"JUST DO IT!" Rumiku shouted as she backed against the wall, holding onto her brothers. Mike sighed and created a force field that covered him, Patrick, Noah, and Rumiku. She watched as Rikku fully pulled off her bandage and dropped it to the ground.

Mike gasped when he saw the dragon that was on her arm as she reached her arm out towards the BlackWolves. Without a word, she thrust it forward, and the dragon lifted up off her arm and there was a blinding light and a large explosion.

* * *

When the smoke cleared, Crystal, Mike, and Sydney dropped their shields, breathing heavily. Rikku was on her hands and knees, as if she used up all of her energy, and she may as well have. 

"Ruki!" Patrick cried and ran over to her.

"Are you ok?" Crystal asked, helping her to her feet.

"I will be, but I probably won't be of any use to you guys after this" Rikku replied. She looked over to where the BlackWolves were piled in the corner, not moving. "C'mon, let's go"

"Are you sure you're ok to get up there?" Julius asked as they walked to the other side of the room.

"I'll be fine" Rikku said as she shook her head.

The kids walked in silence for a few minutes until they heard Cody's cries of mercy. Patrick and Noah rammed their shoulders into the door just in time for the kids to see Cody get slammed into the wall and Zack walked menacingly up to him.

"Zack!"

"Cody!"

* * *

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**


	21. Fire, Water, and Salvation

**Chapter 21 – Fire, Water, and Salvation**

Zack briefly glanced over at the rest of the kids as he smiled and picked Cody's limp form up by the throat and held it against the wall. "You lose buddy," he said evilly, his eyes blazing red with satisfaction.

At the sound of Zack's voice, one of Cody's eyes opened slightly. "Please….fight…it….Zack." His voice was barely audible.

"Cody!" Sydney yelled as he, Patrick, Noah, and Mike dropped into a fighting stance and prepared to leap forward.

"STOP!" Rikku said. Still worn out, she weakly put her arm out to block them.

"WHAT?" Mike said, giving her a look of horror. "What do you mean 'stop'? We haveta help him!"

"Look," Rikku, said angrily. "If you jump in there he's gonna kill him for sure. Just for once, shut your arrogant mouth and listen to me!" She glared at him for a second before she turned to Zack. "Zack put him down! You and I both know you can't kill your own twin!"

"Let him go Zack!" Crystal said warningly.

"Oh really?" Zack replied, turning to Rikku, ignoring Crystal completely. "Watch me."

Unable to control himself anymore, Mike leapt forward. "OK that's it!" He said, turning to Rikku. "If you're not gonna help him, I am!"

"NO!" Rumiku and Crystal chorused.

Zack's smile grew as a wave of flames erupted from his body, flinging Mike back, who a second later, landed on hard on his back. The flames then settled, creating a barrier of intense flames and heat between him and Cody and the rest of them.

"I think I like option number one better." Zack said dully, turning to Crystal. "So I guess if he dies, you can blame that kid." He nodded at Mike as he tightened his grip on Cody's throat, choking him. Cody's hands clamped weakly onto Zack's as Cody used what little strength he had left to make a futile effort to pull them off.

"Zack this isn't you!" Max said. "Stop it! NOW!"

"Zack! They're controlling you!" Rumiku yelled.

Zack's eyes hopped over to them. "You sound just like him." He nodded at Cody, who's resistance was growing weaker and weaker.

"STOP!" Tapeworm yelled as he tried to lunge forward. He only got a few steps before the intense heat from the flames forced him to step back. The others continued to watch helplessly.

A few seconds later Cody's hands slipped off Zack's as his arms fell to his sides. He tried to bring them back up, but halfway, they fell down again, and stayed there; limp. Then Cody stopped moving completely, and appeared to be totally lifeless. Zack's smile increased even further as he let out a soft laugh of triumph.

"Cody!" Sydney yelled again. He, Patrick, and Noah hugged Rumiku for support. "No…" They each muttered softly as tears formed. Each also tried to leap forward, ignoring the flames. Rumiku had to grab each at the last second to stop them from hurting themselves.

"W_hy wouldn't he listen?" _Crystal said to herself, tears streaming down her face. "CODY! She yelled a second later.

* * *

"That's it, my young warrior." Core said as he watched the monitor in his office. "Finish him!" He looked at Damien again. "How much longer?"

"One minute." Damien replied. "I'll take this as my cue to leave and put an end to my little problem. Should I also pick up where your associates left off?"

Core smiled. "No. I'll finish them myself." His voice became extremely quiet. "If necessary, I'll just enact a little darkness in the older ones…the dormant power that sleeps in each…after all, it's who they are. It's in their souls…they can't escape."

* * *

**-Cody's POV-**

_My body was completely numb, as if I had no feeling at all. Black was all I could see, nothingness was all I could feel. Suddenly there was a bright light as a new picture swam into my vision._

_I was standing outside the Tipton, but everything was different. People were panicking, everyone was screaming and running. All around me was total chaos. Debris littered the streets and the buildings around me were crumbling. I looked up at the Tipton, my home, it was completely engulfed in flames._

_Suddenly something else caught my eye. On the twenty-third story window was my mom, screaming for help. A second later, another flame erupted out of her window, engulfing her as well._

"_MOM!" I yelled. I tried to bring my arms back to send a wave of water at the blaze, but nothing happened. "Why won't my arms move?" I thought to myself angrily. "I haveta save her!" I tried again, my arms stayed still as if they were stuck in a patch of concrete. Tears began to stream down my face as a second flame erupted from that window. She was gone. "NO!!" I screamed._

"_C-cody…" Another familiar voice said. I whirled around. Crystal was on the ground in a tangled heap. She was covered in blood and burns._

"_C-cody," she softly said again. "Help me…please…help me Cody."_

"_CRYSTAL!" _

_I watched her scream as a fireball hit her. I tried to run forward but I still couldn't move. Suddenly I saw Zack appear behind her, laughing. The sound was coming out of his mouth, but it wasn't his voice. It was Core's._

"_It's all mine!" Zack said as he laughed hysterically. Again, the voice that left his mouth wasn't Zack's, but Core's. "All the elements! All the power! It's all mine!" His eyes met Cody's. _

"_I'll stop you!" I yelled._

"_Too late, I've already won." He smiled and pointed his hand at Crystal's body. "Say good bye." With that, he shot a large stream of flames at her._

"_NO!!!!" I yelled._

"_CODY!" She screamed as the flames engulfed her._

"_NO!!!!" I yelled again. As the words left my mouth, something within me snapped, and a new surge of power filled my body._

**-Normal POV-**

"CODY!" Crystal yelled again, warm tears flowed freely down her face, stinging her cheeks.

Suddenly Cody's eyes snapped open, glowing bright blue. His hands were also glowing. Faster than lightning, he brought them back, and forward again. A huge blast of water slammed into Zack, splashing everywhere, and knocking him across the room. The excess water also put out the wall of flames around them.

Before the water had even settled, Cody leapt into the air, and landed a powerful kick, right to Zack's stomach. This was instantly followed by barrage of attacks, all of which came faster than anything Zack could have ever predicted. Before Zack could react, Cody made a large uppercut motion, sending another wave of water at him. The wave hit Zack full force, knocking him further into his crater. The water also smashed the necklace around Zack's neck, completely destroying it in the process. Zack collapsed on the spot as Cody landed gracefully on his feet.

"ZACK!" Max and Rikku chorused as all the kids rushed over to him. Cody propped him up in his lap as Zack stirred softly.

A moment later, Zack's eyes slowly opened. "Huh? W-what happened? W-where am I?"

"Zack!" Cody yelled happily as he hugged his brother to him. "I'm so glad you're back!"

Maddie reached over to Zack and gently touched him on the forehead, healing him instantly. Cody backed up as Zack stood up.

"Let's go get Core," Julius said.

"You guys go ahead," Mike said. "I'll catch up." He was glancing back over his shoulder.

"You sure?" Sydney said looking up at him.

"Go"

A moment later, Damien walked through the other door. Mike's face stretched into a slight smirk as his 'flashlight' appeared in his hand. "It ends now." He said softly.

* * *

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	22. The Darkness From Which I Hide

**Chapter 22- The Darkness From Which I Hide**

Rikku winced in pain and fell to her knees as she ran with the others to get to Core.

"Ruki, are you ok?" Patrick asked his eyes wide with fear. She nodded and tried to get to her feet, but fell again. "You must be really tired"

"There's no way she's going to be able to fight in this condition," Maddie said. "I would be able to heal her, but most of her wounds would have to be healed naturally."

"I'll carry her," Zack offered, stepping forward. Despite the circumstances, Julius chuckled to himself.

"Sure, if she doesn't beat you for it," he said and stared in shock, along with the others, as Rikku silently got onto his back. "Anyway, we better get going."

A loud scream of pain echoed off of the walls and Rumiku turned her head. "That was Mike," she murmured.

Noah turned and looked at her as Tapeworm placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go, we can take care of Core until you guys get back here" he said to her.

"A-Are you sure?" Rumiku asked after a moment's hesitation. She looked at her family and friends, who nodded in agreement. She gave Noah a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can"

"No need to rush, we can take care of Core," Crystal said with a small smile as she clapped her cousin on the shoulder. Rumiku nodded and turned back the way she came, running as fast as she could.

'Deathliger, I hope you can hear me, because I may need to use your talents for this' she desperately tried to communicate with her guardian and was relieved when she heard him answer.

She ran back into the room that Damien and Mike were in and dove to the ground, barely dodging a green electrical blast. She looked up and saw Mike with the 'flashlight' in his hands, furiously trying to hit Damien. But the older man easily swept him aside and kicked him in the chest. Mike staggered backwards, gripping his chest in pain, trying not to fall in front of Damien, because he knew that if he fell, he was as good as dead. Damien smirked and punched him in the face, causing him to fall flat on his back and drop the 'flashlight'.

"Deathliger" Rumiku muttered and felt herself being lifted up in the air by her guardian, the majestic lion that had protected her numerous times and was one of her best friends. As Damien was about to release his final blow, Rumiku flew by and grabbed Mike by the collar of his shirt and pulled him onto the back of her guardian.

"What? Rumiku?" Mike cried as he tried to sit up. She forcibly pushed him back down onto his back.

"It's not going to help much if you keep moving when you're that hurt," Rumiku muttered, her eyes on Damien, beneath her.

"You're going to pay for that!" Damien cried and shot the beams of green electricity after Deathliger.

"Deathliger, you know what to do!" Rumiku commanded.

'Are you sure that's a good idea Mistress?' Deathliger asked her, in her mind, a worried tone to his voice. Rumiku frowned grimly.

"I'm positive" she replied.

"What, what are you going to do?" Mike asked worriedly.

Rumiku didn't answer as she and Deathliger started to glow purple. Rumiku's hair started to stand on end as she concentrated. "You may want to hold onto Deathliger really tight, unless you want to go flying across the room," she muttered.

"CHAOS OF DESTRUCTION!" She and Deathliger yelled as they released the pent up energy. They blurred together into a single form of energy and shot through Damien. He roared in pain and fell to his knees as they flew out the other side and returned to their normal form. Tired, Deathliger disappeared.

'Sorry, my mistress. I'm so tired' he apologized. Rumiku and Mike fell to the ground.

"AH!" Damien continued to scream in pain as the darkness started to pour through his body. With all of the darkness that was in it before, there was no way that his body could accommodate the extra surge of it. He was dying. Mike got to his feet and limped over to the older man and smirked down at him. He fell to his knees.

"Now you know what it feels like," he said venomously. "Now you know how it feels to be dying, you killed my best friend, and now you've been killed. I guess its your turn to feel the worst pain possible."

"Damn…you…" Damien breathed before taking his last breath and falling silent, his eyes glazing over.

Mike smirked to himself and shakily got to his feet. He turned and saw Rumiku lying on the ground. "Rumiku!" he kneeled down by her side and shook her shoulder. "Hey are you ok? Hey! Wake up!"

Rumiku opened her eyes and mustered up a grin. "Now you owe me…for saving your life"

"I'm glad your ok," Mike whispered and hugged her tightly, trying not to let his tears fall. Rumiku pushed herself away.

"Dude, you're crushing me!" She said as she got to her feet.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Mike asked apprehensively. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm a tough girl, I can take care of myself," she said as she brushed her hair out of her eyes with her shoulder.

Mike walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I want to take care of you" he said gently. Rumiku looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Mike turned her head to face him and pressed his lips against hers gently. Surprising herself and Mike, Rumiku kissed him back.

"Ready to go take care of Core?" Rumiku asked when she pulled away. A small smirk was on her face.

"Of course, I'm ready to kick his butt!" Mike replied.

* * *

"Hey guys, we're almost there" Sydney said as the group continued to walk through the building. "I can feel it." 

"This is going to be a battle between you guys and Core. I can feel that Rumiku is as hurt as I am, so it's going to be up to you" Rikku said.

Zack stopped walking. "You guys go ahead, I want to talk to Rikk for a few minutes" he said to the others. "Just for a few minutes, I'll be there really soon."

"Alright," Julius nodded and continued leading the others farther into the building.

Zack set Rikku on the ground and sat next to her. "Can I tell you something?" he asked her.

"Sure" she replied with a nod.

"When I had that necklace thing on my neck, the thing that was making me evil, I only thought of two things. You and my brother" Zack said. "The only reason it made me evil was because it made me think of all of the arguments and bad times I had between you two. And the only reason I could fight it for a little bit was because, then, I only thought about you."

Rikku turned to look at him and saw that he was staring back at her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, is that I love you, Rikku" he said seriously, yet slightly scared.

"That's good for you then, because, I love you too. I don't know for how long I've felt like that, but I've always been afraid to say anything. So I hid my true feelings by pretending to hate you" Rikku replied. Zack smiled and kissed her cheek.

"There's time for that later guys, we have to get Core" Rumiku said as she and Mike slowly walked up the hallway. Rumiku helped her sister to her feet, and they leaned heavily on each other for support.

"Right, let's beat this dude once and for all!" Zack said confidently…

* * *

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	23. The Curses Within

**Chapter 23 – The Curses Within**

**- Crystal POV -**

I continued to eye Cody as we walked to get Core. Finally his eyes flashed in my direction, causing me to look away.

"What's wrong?" He said as he slowed his walking pace to match mine.

"Nothing," I replied softly, looking away.

"Uh, huh," He said unconvinced. "Come on Crys, please tell me. Besides you're gonna have me worried if I know your mind's sidetracked during the battle."

"Fine, it's just that…"

"Yea?" He said nodding, coaxing me on.

"I was so scared!" I said finally, my eyes filled with tears. "I thought he killed you! When I saw your hands fall…" My voice broke as my thoughts turned back to what happened. All I could do was stand there, useless, watching him struggle...watching him suffer...watching him die. The feeling of complete helplessness…it felt like someone was dragging a knife through my stomach. The pain, it hurt so bad and made me nauseous, like I wanted to puke. It was like I was dying too.

"I'm sorry, but I'm ok now," He responded.

"Yea I know," I said shortly. I gave him a stunned look the tears began to slowly drip down. "But it could have also gone the other way. Cody…please, promise me you won't do something like that again! PLEASE!"

"It was my brother Crys," Cody replied firmly. "I had to help him. I had to try at least."

"Cody, do you know I…all of us would have had to live with if he had killed you?"

"Yea," He said quietly.

"So please promise me!" I said again, tears flowing freely.

"I'm sorry Crys," He said in the same tone. "I can't. Zack would have done the same for me."

"Yea I know-"

"Also, what if something happened during the battle with Core?" He said, cutting me off. "Do you know what I would have had to live with if I had just sat it out?"

"I guess."

"Crys, aside from Zack, I wasn't going to let anything have a chance of happening to you." He responded looking me directly in the eye. "I couldn't live without you. And besides, you actually saved me."

"What?" I said confused as I dried my eyes. "How?"

He told me about the vision he had. "I knew I had to help you, no matter what. When I saw that, I only had one thought, and that was protecting you. Something inside me just snapped, like someone opened up a floodgate or something inside me. My body filled with all this power. I've never felt anything like it before."

I nodded. "Yea, and I've never seen you fight like that either. It sounds like you finally tapped the full power of your element."

"And now Core's gonna feel it too." He said firmly. "No one messes with us like that and gets away with it!"

"Just promise me you won't take anymore chances like that."

He ignored my request. "Come on, let's catch up to the others," he said as he started to sprint forward. Sighing I followed. When I caught up, Sydney stopped.

"What's up Syd?" I asked. Julius looked back at us. "We'll catch up in a sec." He nodded and turned forward again.

"What's worng?" Sydney asked, scanning my eyes.

I told him about Cody, as he listened intently. "Don't worry too much about that." He said. "Now that Cody's tapped into his element's full power, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Ruki and Rumi hate to admit it, but he and Zack are the most powerful elementals we know of." I nodded feeling somewhat better, not much though.

"I gotta tell you something, too." he said.

"Yea?" I said, stopping along with him.

"I don't know where we're gonna go after this," he said softly.

"Back home like always," I replied with a smile.

"We can't."

My eyes twisted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell Ruki I told you this," He said softly. "But...we get abused."

_What?_ I was about to yell when he threw his hand over my mouth. I gave him a stunned look.

"But that doesn't matter now. Mike saw Robert doing it to me. He stepped in, and put a permanent stop to it." He released his hand.

"You mean?" I said shocked.

"Yea, Robert tried to shoot him, and his plan backfired on him. That was probably the only time I've actually seen Mike use his 'flashlight' thing. Anyway so Robert's dead."

"Wow, really??" I replied, now even more shocked.

"So I was wondering if your dad would let us stay with him for a few days, until we got it all figured out. Please promise me you won't say anything until after all this is done. Everyone has a lot to worry about right now."

_Like I don't, especially with Cody_. I thought to myself, sighing silently." Ok Syd, I promise."

He smiled. "So let's go put an end to Core forever."

"Sounds good." I replied with a fake smile.

* * *

**- Normal POV -**

"He's in there," Julius said as they came up to a large door. "I know it."

"Let's do this!" Zack said as a large fireball appeared around his hand, which he then flung at the door, destroying it. One by one, each of the kids walked through the newly formed hole. Core calmly sat in his chair facing the window as they approached.

"You're through Core!" Julius said. "Give it up."

Core sighed softly as his smile grew. "Ah, so my former servants return to me, each to receive their just rewards for betrayal." He said softly.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to me and my brother!" Zack yelled.

"So that's this Core dude you guys have been talking about?" Mike said. "Some wimp who won't even face us?"

Max growled at him.

"I don't believe I've met you yet." Core said turning around and facing Mike. "However I must say your skills have impressed me thus far, well done."

Mike smirked. "And now you get to see what I can really do."

"Didn't I tell you going back to your friends was wrong?" Core said, ignoring him as he looked at Zack. "Now you all will learn the hard lesson that each traitor learns eventually." He hit a small button on the side of his armrest.

Three bolts of purplish black lightning flew down from the ceiling. Rikku and Rumiku tried to dodge them, but were still too tired. The third one hit Crystal. Each of them screamed and grabbed their heads as the energy surged through them.

"RIKKU!" Zack yelled.

"RUKI!" Noah screamed.

"RUMI!" Patrick screamed

"RUMIKU!" Mike yelled.

"CRYSTAL!" Cody and Tapeworm chorused.

Julius and Sydney's eyes widened with fear. "No…" They each softly muttered. "Guys get back! NOW!" Julius said quickly.

"What's going on?" Mike said.

"Apparently, you're new to this also," Core said smiling. "Each of them has a curse that lies dormant in them. Now you will see their true forms. So," He started laughing. "How do you like them now?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Mike yelled as Julius yanked his arm. "No! Rumiku!"

"Get back!" Julius said warningly.

"NO!" He snapped.

Julius shot him a dirty look as he turned to the rest of the group. "Zack, Cody, go take care of Core. Maddie, stay back incase one of us needs to get healed." She nodded.

"We'll handle this," Patrick said.

Julius looked right into Mike's eyes, around which blue sparks had started flying intensely. "Help Zack and Cody, she'll be fine. I promise."

He nodded. With that, Maddie touched his forehead, healing his remaining injuries from his battle with Damien. "Fine, I'm gonna trust you on that." He said as he turned to join Zack and Cody who had already started towards Core.

Julius, Tapeworm, Max, Partrick, Noah, and Sydney turned towards the girls who were just finishing their transformations. "Don't worry," Julius said softly with a slight smile.

* * *

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	24. The Final Fight Part 1

**Chapter Twenty Four – The Final Fight pt.1**

"Ruki," Patrick whispered under his breath as he clenched his teeth together. "_I'm not going to let this get to you again, Ruki. I'm going to save you, and make this curse stop hurting you once and for all."_

"_I really wish you could do that Pat_,_"_ Noah said, reading his twin's mind. The two could do that without having to use their elemental powers. When they were young they discovered that they could read each others' minds, and often had conversations that no one else could hear. As they grew up they used it to their advantage in fights against the elementals and for school work and stuff. _"You know that her curse can only be taken away if the original creator of it is killed, and we don't know who it is_._"_

"_I can at least try something!"_ Patrick replied as he watched Rikku slowly get to her feet, giant black wings unfolding out of her back. Her fangs and nails grew as her eyes glowed a bright shade of red.

Noah looked over at Rumiku, who had turned into a large lion. Her tail was swishing back and forth and her mouth was open in a soundless snarl. Crystal had turned into a giant white tiger; her eyes were now glowing green.

Core stood on the other side of the room, smirking at Zack, Cody, and Mike who were slowly advancing towards him.

"Go ahead and fight me, but I can't guarantee that you'll live to see your mother again," Core said maliciously.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you!" Mike snarled and leapt forward.

The fight was on…

* * *

Mike, while he was in the air, reached into his pocket and pulled out his flashlight. The blade seemed to have extended from the last time he used it, and he brought it down towards Core. Core held up his hand and Mike froze in mid air. His eyes widened in shock as Core thrust his palm forward, and Mike went flying back across the room and crashed into a wall, crying out in pain.

"Mike!" Zack and Cody cried in unison.

"You're going to pay for that!" Zack snarled. A sword appeared in his hands as did Cody's. They swung it in an arc, trying to hit him, but it seemed to have hit a barrier and they went spiraling to the ground.

"What, the hell was that?" Cody gasped as he got back to his feet.

"Hmm, let's see" Core held his hands up into the air and two transparent hands made of energy appeared in the air. He pushed his arms forward and the hands sank into Zack's and Cody's chests. The two screamed in pain as the dark energy surged through their veins. They rolled around on the floor, trying to escape the pain from the hands, but the hands followed them wherever they moved. "Maybe it was telekinesis!"

'_Cody, whatever you do, don't give up…we have to save the others'_ Zack thought desperately, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

'Don't worry Zack; I'm not going to give up when we have to save our friends. We have to save the world and keep the non elementals, like our mom and dad, London, Mr. Moseby, Esteban, Arwin, and all of them safe. We owe it to them.' Cody thought back.

Maddie helped Mike off of the wall, and started to heal him, but he pushed her off, muttering that he was fine and went back over to Zack and Cody. He stared in shock when he saw them glowing bright red and bright blue.

"What the hell?" he whispered…

* * *

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	25. The Final Fight Part 2

**Chapter 25 – The Final Fight Pt. 2**

"We shall become one, we shall become one." Zack and Cody chanted softly in unison as the glows around them grew brighter and brighter. Finally the two glows swirled around each other, followed by a bright flash of light.

"What the hell?" Mike repeated again as he stared in awe. A moment later he walked up to join his companion again.

Standing where Zack and Cody had been was a single boy with blond hair. His clothes has swirls of blue and red on them. His sword had a engraved design of fire and water on its golden hilt and the blade a few small red and blue gems on it which were also located near the blade's hilt.

"So you fused yourselves together?" Core said with a smirk as he prepped the telekinetic hands again. "This will make things much easier."

"Wait, so you fused together?" Mike said. Zack and Cody's fused form glanced back at him and nodded slightly. Mike then turned his attention back at Core. "So you like telekinesis…amateur. This should be fun."

"You never seem to learn do you?" Core sneered.

Mike smirked as his eyes began to glow blue. He pointed his hand at Core and waved it back. A blue aura appeared around Core and he flew back towards the wall. Using his own telekinetic hands, Core pushed off the wall and flung himself back towards the floor, where he landed on his feet. He growled at Mike.

"In case you haven't noticed," Mike said cockily. "I have that ability too. I just figured I would start out fighting fair." Core growled again.

"This is your end Core," Zack and Cody's fused form said. The voice sounded like a chorus of their own individual voices. Zack and Cody's fused self then raised its sword and leapt forward.

"Give it up!" Core yelled as one of the telekinetic hands flew towards the oncoming warrior, who dodged it easily. Core then flung the other hand at him, which was also dodged. Finally Core was forced to put up a force field to protect himself from the oncoming attack. Zack and Cody's fused form then flipped back and raised its sword for another attack. Mike also advanced forward with his 'flashlight' out, the blue glow from the blade reflecting off his face.

* * *

"Ruki…" Patrick said softly as he and Noah dodged her claws. Julius and Sydney were battling with Rumiku, and Max and Tapeworm dueled with Crystal. 

Patrick leapt up as Noah slide underneath her. For a split second, Rikku seemed unsure of which one to attack, giving Patrick the opportunity to land a kick to her back. She screamed angrily and smacked him with her wings. Patrick flew from one wing to the other, which landed its blow full force. Patrick screamed in pain as he landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Patrick!" Noah yelled as he dodged Rikku's fangs. "Mind Blast!" He placed his hands on his forehead and sent a wave of psychic energy, which hit Rikku in the forehead, causing her to stumble back. With Rikku distracted, Noah rushed over to his twin. Maddie also arrived at Patrick at the same time to heal him. A moment later, Patrick was back on his feet, ready to go.

"LOOK OUT!" Julius yelled suddenly. The three looked over to see Rumiku seconds away from landing right next to them. A ball of dark energy formed in her mouth, which a second later, she flung at Maddie. Maddie screamed as she flew into the air. Patrick and Noah stared helplessly in horror, as Rumiku then smashed Maddie with her tail. A second later, Maddie crashed into the wall and slid down it, unconscious.

"NO!" Julius yelled as he and Sydney rushed over. Max and Tapeworm looked over in terror, but quickly turned back towards Crystal who was prepped for another swipe at them with her claws.

"MADDIE!" The twins chorused.

"She must have seen that Maddie was healing us!" Sydney said, his eyes wide.

"Now what?" Noah said, looking at his older brother for help, however help actually came from elsewhere.

"Noah," Patrick said. "Go help Sydney with Rumiku, Julius, go to Maddie. I'll take care of Rikku."

"But-" Noah began, looking up at Julius.

"GO!" He said, as Rikku and Rumiku came back for another round. "I'm getting rid of this curse once and for all! DO IT!"

Noah and Sydney looked at Julius again searching for help from their oldest brother. He nodded. They stared at him in disbelief. "I'll be right there if things start to go bad." They also nodded and turned to face the oncoming Rumiku.

"It's time to free you!" Patrick yelled as Rikku arrived in front of him.

* * *

The fused Zack and Cody leapt at Core again as Mike flung a black energy ball at him. Core growled as he swiped at the oncoming attacks with his telekinetic hands. The energy ball imploded on contact, creating a bunch of smoke, forcing Zack and Cody to dodge the hand and break off their attack. 

"Come and get me!" Core said he waved one of his actual hands, which flipped a switch under his desk. One of the panels in the wall opened and Core retreated into it. Zack and Cody's fused self and Mike quickly ran forward.

Using one of his telekinetic hands, Core swiped at one of the ceiling beams, causing it to fall towards Zack and Cody. Acting fast, Mike's eyes began to glow again as he raised his hand. A blue aura formed around the beam. Straining, Mike finally stopped its fall with feet to spare, and flung it harmlessly to the side. Breathing heavily, Mike began to advance again.

"Is that all you can do?" Core sneered. "DIE!" He backed up further into another chamber, and used the other telekinetic hand to push another beam down, which also caused the ceiling in the passage to collapse. Mike raised both hands, his eyes still glowing to stop the falling debris. Sweat poured down his face as one by one he stopped the falling ceiling pieces. He continued to strain, groaning painfully until finally he flung the debris harmlessly to the side. He fell to his knees breathing heavily. Also, now a huge pile of rubble separated Zack and Cody and himself from Core.

"Now it's time to finish you!" Zack and Cody's fused form chorused as it leapt over the rubble. As it did so, Core pushed the rubble forward, causing a landslide of debris. Zack and Cody's fused form gracefully leapt from one piece to another as it advanced towards Core. At the last second, Mike also saw the advancing debris, and quickly teleported himself to the other side of it. When he reached the other side, he saw a powerful red and blue elemental blast erupt from Zack and Cody's sword and hit Core full force. He yelled as he slammed into the wall. Zack and Cody quickly followed him and landed another powerful attack, which flung Core into the middle of the room. Core used his telekinetic hands again to cushion the landing and flip himself onto his feet again.

"Nice attack, you two are definitely as powerful as predicted." Core said, smirking again. "But you still have a long way before you're as powerful as I am! Plus, your friends will die before you ever see them again…if you ever see them again. NOW DIE!" With that, Core sent full waves of dark lightning out in all directions. The lightning that hit the walls bounced off them and kept going, like a deadly super ball.

Zack and Cody's fused form dodged a couple of lightning blasts, but was hit by a third one. He screamed as the energy surged through him. The rest of the lightning bolts then bent, and centered on him. Both the telekinetic hands also centered on him, and sank into his chest, sending more dark energy surging through him, causing him to scream louder. His body sparked with energy. All the energy in one place caused a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Zack and Cody separated and fell to the floor, unconscious, a small trail of blood emitting from their mouths.

"ZACK! CODY!" Mike yelled. Thoughts about his first meeting with Damien, his friend dying, Damien's smirk as he whipped Mike's helpless friend, all began to surge through his mind. His hands shook with rage as blue flames began to surround him.

Core smirked as he menacingly looked up from Zack and Cody to Mike. "Now you see what happens to my adversaries. It's too bad, ones as powerful as them…and you. So why don't you learn to use your elemental powers effectively and join me?"

"NEVER!" Mike yelled. The flames around him intensified.

"Too bad," Core said, shaking his head. "One with such power shouldn't have to die, but your wish is my command." The lightning erupted from Core, and the telekinetic hands closed in on him.

Mike's eyes began to glow so bright they were almost white. The flames around Mike swirled and formed a giant column that swirled around him, which also glowed so bright it was almost white. They then formed together into a giant blast of energy and flew forward, overpowering the lightning and ripping through the telekinetic hands. The blast then hit Core who screamed as the energy coursed through him and created another giant explosion. He then fell to the ground, his eyes glazed over.

When the smoke died, the glow also faded from Mike's eyes, as he collapsed on the spot. A moment later, Blazen and Phantom appeared and shook their respective masters awake. Zack and Cody's eyes fluttered open as each looked up at their respective guardian.

"Where's Core?" Zack asked as he came to. Blazen still held his head up.

"Gone." Blazen said.

"What do you mean?" Cody said softly, looking over.

"Look over there." Phantom said. He helped Cody raise his head, Blazen did the same for Zack. They looked over and saw Core's motionless body. "We can't sense his energy at all anymore either."

"I wonder what happened?" Zack said, as he shakily got to his feet with the help of Blazen. He then looked over to the other side of the room. "MIKE!"

Blazen and Phantom helped Zack and Cody over. Cody checked Mike's pulse, faint, but existent.

"Come on, let's go help the others!" Cody said.

* * *

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	26. Answers

**Chapter 26 – Answers**

"Come on," Cody said again as his twin lifted Mike onto his back. With that, Zack, Cody, Blazen and Phantom hurried back through the door towards the others.

"Just in time," Julius said as glanced over and saw them before turning back to the battle. Zack gently set Mike down and hurried over to help Patrick. Cody then joined Max and Tapeworm. Since both were still worn out however, it wasn't long before each was breathing heavily, Rikku, and Crystal's blows missing them with only inches to spare.

Zack looked over at Blazen. "Is there anything we can do to change them back."

"We can contact their guardians to try and suppress their curses," Blazen replied. Phantom also nodded.

"Then do it already!" Noah said, looking over before getting smacked by Rumiku's tail.

"The only thing," Phantom added. "It won't be permanent."

"We can deal with that later!" Julius replied.

"And," Blaxen added. "They have to be unconscious."

Julius rubbed his hands together and sent a bolt of lightning at Rumiku, causing her to stumble back. "There's no other way?" He asked, not wanting to hurt his siblings. The others also looked over concerned.

"Sorry," Blazen responded solemnly.

"Wait!" Patrick yelled as he motioned over to Noah. "If we can connect telepathically, maybe we can contact the _real_ Ruki, Rumi, and Crysti-chan."

"Worth a shot," Noah said as he clasped his twin's hand.

"What are you two doing?" Sydney asked.

They ignored him as an expressionless look took over their faces. Rikku, Rumiku and Crystal each stopped where they stood, shaking their heads in agony. Everyone else just stared, speechless. As Patrick and Noah continued to concentrate, the girls slowly transformed back to their normal selves. Finally Patrick and Noah let go, breathing heavily, but they were extremely relieved their sisters were back to normal.

"What happened?" Rikku said as she looked from her worn siblings, over to her twin and cousin, and her friends. Zack rushed up and hugged her, as Cody did to Crystal. They, along with Rumiku looked around to the others, still wondering the answer to Rikku's question.

"Core activated your curses," Julius said with a sigh.

"Oh," Rumiku said, then she looked over to the wall and saw both Maddie and Mike slumped there. "MIKE!" She yelled as she rushed over, and lifted his unconscious body into her arms. "What happened to them?"

"You knocked Maddie out," Julius said as he walked over. "While you were still under the influence of your curse, as for him, I have no idea."

Rumiku looked from her brother down to Mike. Cody also walked over and put his hand on her shoulder.

"He's just knocked out," Cody said comfortingly. "He should be fine, I think."

Max looked over with a slight smile, "Besides, since when do you care?"

"I guess she actually_ does _like him," Tapeworm said with a chuckle.

Rumiku ignored them as she turn her attention back to Mike, who stirred softly in her arms. A second later, his eyes, fluttered half open. "Hey," he said weakly.

Rumiku smiled as tears dripped down her cheeks. She hugged him tightly. "DON"T EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!" She said.

Julius smiled at his sister before turning to Zack and Cody, "So what happened to Core?"

They explained what they remembered about the battle, as Julius nodded, listening intently. "When we woke up," Cody finished. "Core was just laying there, neither of us could feel his energy, and we saw Mike unconscious on the other side of the room."

"So," Sydney said speaking up, "I guess we'll find out when he finally comes around."

"Then I guess we'll never know what actually happened," Crystal said with a smile. Max and Tapeworm also laughed.

"Well I guess the battle's over," Noah said. "And hopefully forever, now that Core's been defeated finally."

"Yea I hope you're right," Sydney agreed with a smile, but then his smile faded.

"What's wrong Syd?" Rikku asked.

"Well, um…" Sydney began. "I don't know how to tell you guys this, but um…" His voice trailed off.

"Yea, what's up?" Patrick asked.

"Well," Sydney began again. "We aren't going home after this one."

"What do you mean?" Rikku asked.

"Crystal already offered for us to stay with her and her dad," Sydney replied. "But dad, is…um…dead."

"WHAT?" The other Hiroshimas, with chorused, Rumiku also looked over.

Rikku thought back to before they left. "Don't tell me…"

Sydney nodded. "Robert tried to kill him, didn't exactly work out to plan."

"Don't worry," Crystal interjected before Rikku could say anything. "You guys are welcome to stay with us."

"You sure?" Rikku asked again.

"Yea," Crystal replied.

With that, the kids headed back to Boston.

* * *

"So, tell your sister I'm sorry," Mike said to Rumiku as the two walked through Liberty Park. His face broke into a smile. 

"What do you mean?" Rumiku asked, smiling back.

"Well, she said there was a good chance I'd die in Core's hideout," Mike replied. "Tell her sorry to disappoint her."

"YOU!" Rumiu said with a smile as she playfully smacked him in the shoulder.

"Hey watch it!" Mike said laughing as he backed away holding his shoulder.

"Oh, yea?" Rumiku responded. "Or else what?" With that she chased after him, laughing.

Patrick sat on a park bench, staring off into the distance, watching Zack and Cody skateboard on the other side of the park. A moment later, Noah and Sydney joined him. "Hey Pat," Sydney said. "What's wrong?"

With that, the look on Patrick's face cleared up, as if he didn't want them to know what he was thinking. "Oh, nothing."

"Come on," Noah said. "Do I haveta read your mind?"

"You can't even read a book!" Patrick responded.

"Neither can you," Syndey interjected, as they laughed.

"It's just, I was wondering if we could ever get rid of those curses once and for all."

"Maybe one day," a voice said behind them. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney looked up to see Julius, Maddie, Crystal, and Rikku. "But for now, we haveta handle it as it is." After, Zack and Cody joined them.

"Guess so," Patrick responded with a sigh.

"Hey, I got some good news," Maddie said, as he motioned to Rikku. "Or should I say Rikku does." The younger Hiroshimas looked up at their older sister.

"Uncle Christian finished our paperwork today," Rikku said. "So looks like he's stuck with us."

"God help us with the bathroom in the morning," Crystal said as they laughed.

A few minutes later, Mike and Rumiku walked up. "Hey Rumi guess what?" Sydney said.

"What?" She asked with a smile.

"Uncle Christian officially adopted us," Sydney responded also with a large grin.

"Cool," Rumiku said as she looked at her sister, who nodded in agreement.

"Congrates," Mike said. "Looks like you guys will finally have a good home."

"Wait," Rumiku said. "What about you? Where are you gonna go?"

Mike sighed. "I don't know. Besides, after being on my own, I don't know if I can deal with living under someone again."

"We'll figure something out," Sydney said, with a smile.

"Yea," The twins agreed.

"Thanks." Mike said with a smile. "So Julius, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Core said learn to use my elemental power effectively," Mike explained. "Well we both know my powers aren't elemental, so I was wondering, what are they?"

"Not sure," Julius responded. "They haveta have some kind of elemental base to them, because you can withstand elemental attacks, but you don't have a guardian."

"Yea."

"Well we're always discovering new elementals," Julius said. "Maybe you're a new type."

"Yea, besides I'm sure my dad can help us figure it out." Crystal said.

"Yea definitely!" Sydney said, jumping up, grabbing Mike's hand. "Come on let's go!"

"Sounds good," he said with a smile as he followed the others.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**(A/N) Thanks for reading, Review please. Sequel coming soon.**


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